21 Shades of Grey
by HakunaMatata17
Summary: 21 year old Christian Grey has just graduated from Harvard. Upon arriving back in Seattle, he starts his own business. What happens when he encounters 20 year old junior college student Anastasia Steele? Will Ana be able to bring our Fifty Shades into the light far sooner than anyone would have expected or will someone beat her to the punch? AU/OOC/HEA. No Cheating.
1. Christian's Graduation

**A/N Hey there! This is my first time writing fan fiction so please bear with me. English isn't my first language so apologies for any grammatical mistakes I may commit. I am not American so please excuse me also for not knowing the proper procedures, facts and other random details regarding American culture.**

**My story is about a 21 year old Christian, who after GRADUATING from Harvard starts his own business. Little does he know that his world will be knocked upside down by the lovely 20 year old Junior college student, Anastasia Steele. **

**Notes:**

**- Christian (21) does graduate from Harvard (in dedication to my cousin who finished top of her class (Go Cous!). Also I changed his birthday from June 18 to April 18, that way he won't turn 22 a month after his graduation. I also changed Ana's b-day to January 10. She's 9 months younger than Christian.**

**- Ana is a 20 year old college student at the beginning of my story. Also I also made her go to the UW instead of WSUV as UW is actually in Seattle, thus being in a closer location (cause he wouldn't be able to go to WSUV all the time while his business was just starting out now could he?). **

**- OOC/AU. HEA guaranteed. No cheating and no primary character deaths. **

**Christian's POV**

I'm sitting in the row of chairs behind the podium. I'm placed right next to one of the high ranking officials in the university. I don't remember who though, it's not like I need to remember this fucker's name after I'm done here.

The day has finally arrived. After 4 years of studying, 4 years of putting up with know it all teachers and ignorant students, 4 years of wasted time, I'm finally graduating. I never expected this day would come. I fully expected a year ago that by this time that I would be in Seattle already running my business. I planned to drop out a year ago. Harvard just wasn't doing it for me anymore. It never held any appeal to me to go to Harvard, thinking I already knew everything I needed to know about running a business. I mean I knew all the procedures and other details needed to be known in order to run a successful business. For some reason, I'm able to just be able to understand and comprehend spreadsheets and numbers easily without much trouble. My mom said I was always gifted with Math and numbers. I remember when I was younger, I'd do Elliot's homework in exchange for access to his porn collection. I know, I know. I was and still am a horny bastard. My mom of course didn't know I'd watch porn from him. She would have a coronary if she found out and Elliot would have probably been grounded till he turned 18. _Maybe I should have told her_…Anyway I just always knew how to properly solve those problems. It came naturally to me. Like the way Gordon Ramsey always screamed at people or how the Mariners always lost. I wonder if I got that skill from the crackwhore…

Turns out I didn't know everything I needed to know though. Me going to Harvard made me realize I need to be able to properly interact with people outside an office. I've been living an isolated life for the most of my existence. All stemming from the fact that I'm nothing a weird kid. I couldn't and still now can't be touched by anyone intimately, especially on my chest and upper back. No one could touch me, not even my family. Not even my mother, who saved me. _Pathetic eh?_ Add that to the fact that I didn't know how to properly talk to people and that equals a major problem. How would I be able to run a business when I can't interact with people properly? I needed to be able to observe all the people around me. I needed to know what made them tick, how they did certain things and why they did them. That way, I could always predict what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. I made sure I always has control over the situation. I made sure I always came out on top.

Right now though I'm doing nothing but sitting down and listening to Bill Gates speech. Yep he's giving out the commencement address for this year's class. Not surprised though, He hasn't given it yet and he has been one of Harvard's most famous students. I didn't say Alumni because he did drop out. If only I could've dropped out. He's also the world's richest man, and the pride and joy of the state of Washington. _Not when I'm done he won't_

Turns out he's not all the bad. Hearing him talk about his efforts in trying to abolish poverty reminds me of my own desire to try and abolish poverty. As a child I have experienced hunger, and by hunger, I don't mean those kids complaining that they're not getting to eat their favorite ice cream or eat at their favorite fast food restaurant, because that's not hunger. That's a pathetic excuse for hunger. The hunger I'm talking about is eating once a day nothing but frozen peas as a child. I'll be damned if I let myself become hungry again. Once my business takes off, I'll make sure to start my own foundation to help feed the hungry.

Once his speech is finished, the whole crowd, including me, stands up and gives him a warm and welcome applause. Hey, I have to show him courtesy if we're gonna do future business and trust me, we will. He shakes hands with the president and the other high ranking officials before giving me a warm smile. He sits down and then the president stands up to introduce me. Oh boy, here we go.

"Thank you Mr. Gates for that wonderful speech. Up next is someone I'm sure you are all familiar about. One of our top students, this person is graduating summa cum laude with his degree in Economics. He has the highest GPA in his entire class and is one of the title winning members of the rowing team". Yeah yeah get it over with it. "He has certainly been one of the most brilliant yet…enigmatic students we have had. Who we have no doubt will be nothing but a massive success in the future. Without further ado please give a warm round of applause for none other than Christian Trevelyan Grey". I take that as my cue to stand and shake hands with the president and go over to the podium. Tons of people are clapping and some of them, by them I mean the women, are hooting and screaming. Jeez it's as if it's the first time they've ever heard of someone giving a speech. I roll my eyes_. It's just a face and a body, nothing inside._

I wave to the crowd and see my parents, Grace and Carrick, along with my older brother Elliot and my sister Mia. They are the real reason why I decided not to drop out of Harvard, well that and the company I planned to buy a stake in was suddenly taken over by another company. Bunch of fuckers. Plus I didn't even know where I would have gotten the money to start my own business. I doubt that my parents would have lent me anything if I had dropped out. And I know the banks would have never loaned me anything considering the fact that I would have been nothing but a young drop out. And no way could I have borrowed any money from Elena, not after what happened. Plus I couldn't drop out because last year when I was close to finalizing my decision, my dad almost had a heart attack. His blood pressure and stress levels were off the roof. He had been involved in this high profile case against this money gambling ring and it got so bad that there were even threats sent to my dad, the other lawyers on my dad's team and our families. No way could I have told him I would be dropping out. That would have been the thing to have put him over the edge. Most importantly though is that I feel that I need to make them proud of me. I was a lousy child to raise. When Grace found me and finally adopted me, I wouldn't talk for 2 whole years. They spent tons of money on therapists and looking for possible solutions that would have helped me to start to talk but none of them worked. I only started to talk when Mia arrived. Those were even my first words. Mia. She was recently adopted a few weeks after we had moved to Seattle from Detroit and when mom came home one Sunday morning, she was holding her saying that she was our new baby sister. Elliot immediately threw a fit but I was just mesmerized by her. I tugged at mom to let me hold her and she did. When I held her, I felt something right away for her. I knew she would never hurt me. She gave me hope. Hope that I could possibly see the light at the end of the tunnel where I have been stuck in for the past 21 years. Alas, her light is not bright enough. After she arrived, things were sorta normal, well as normal as someone so fucked up could be. I endured a sorta normal childhood. Went to school, got good grades then went home. Never had any friends. I couldn't have made any. All the boys my age were all rowdy and always wrestling with each other while the girls were all trying to kiss me and I, I couldn't bear to be touched. So I just stayed away and let myself be isolated. When I was a teenager though, the shit hit the fan. My raging hormones made me absolutely impossible to deal with. I was uncontrollable. I was angry all the time and would start fights when people would even just look at me in a funny way. I drank all the time and even got drunk at school sometimes and sometimes, I would even be drunk in my parent's presence. I had horrible grades and was certainly not the sort of kid parents as wonderful as Grace and Carrick should have had to deal with. Heck I almost got into drugs! And I was almost sent to military school. Thankfully it all changed when I met Elena. If she hadn't been there to teach me control and all the other things I would have needed to succeed, then I wouldn't be where I am now. If only she would have controlled herself more, then none of those bad stuff would have happened to her. Well at least now I can start trying to be the son my parents deserve. Starting by making my dad proud. As the patriarch of the family, it was his job to discipline us and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him that he was never able to discipline me. It must have caused him great disappointment. Not only to his ego, but the way he thought of himself as a father. He must have thought he was a failure. I know it was always his dream to see his son graduate the top of his class and be beside him. My mom had more modest dreams for me, but I guess this is a start. This is one of those perfect opportunities to finally be the son that my parents deserve. If only I could tell them the real reason why I changed.

When the crowd finally settles down I begin my speech. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen. I would first like to say thank you to the president and all the staff that helped organize this graduation ceremony. Whether you were on logistics or you're just the one to clean up after the ceremony, thank you for your cooperation and service. Thank you to the parents for coming here and supporting their children and thank you to the students for actually coming here and not letting myself be embarrassed." Laughter ensues all around. "Today we stand here fully knowing that it's the day we've been waiting for. 4 years' worth of sweat and tears all come to fruition today. Today we not only get our diplomas, symbolizing that we have completed all the necessary requirements needed to finish a degree program. Today, we are able to revel in the fact that we have made it. Not everybody has had the privilege to study, when it should not be a privilege at all, but a right. Much less in a school as prestigious as our own. Not everybody has always had food on their plate. Not everybody will sleep warm in their beds tonight knowing their beds will still be there by the time they wake up. Not everybody has had the promise of a bright future given to them. Considering all those facts, we can say we are all lucky here. Lucky that we have been able to have had our basic needs given to us, considering the fact that we're attending this school, and we are all lucky to be here with the promise of a better future. I ask now all of you to remember that this is not the end of the journey we started to take 4 years ago, but merely a pit stop. Our work does not stop here. It's up to us now to do what we can to help each other out. We must use what we have learned to not only help ourselves but to help all the others who need our help. I personally know what it's like to be hungry and to have been neglected. Before I was adopted, I suffered both of those in severe cases. I know what it's like to not have any hope. For some reason though, the universe gave me a chance. 2 wonderful souls in the form of my parents saved me from hell. After that 2 more people in the form of my siblings helped me remove hell's dirty residue of myself"…or at least have tried to. "They never gave up on me despite all the hardships they've faced". I look to my mom and see that she has started to tear up, along with some other people in the crowd. "All I ask now is that we all unite. Unite and promise ourselves that we will not let what our parents, our teachers and we have worked hard for go to waste. Let us all strive for honor and excellence in serving our families, our country and our species. Like the saying goes, 'it's not about the destination but the journey' and I firmly believe that all of our journeys are far from over but merely just beginning. Let us all seize the day. Carpe Diem everyone. Thank you."

I finally finish my speech and I receive a standing ovation from the crowd along with some whistles being blown. I also receive some flying kisses from my mom, my sister Mia and from some of the girls who are in attendance. _For fuck's sake. _I go back to my seat and shake hands with the officials and with Bill Gates.

"Great job there Christian. You'll go places." Says Gates

"Thank you" I mutter trying to be polite.

After that, the certificates are to be given and with me being summa cum laude, I have the privilege of being first. I see my parents make their way to the stage. My dad looks dapper in his suit while my mom looks stunning in her green dress. She looks 20 years younger and absolutely beautiful.

"Oh Christian what a beautiful speech" my mom says when she reaches me and kisses my cheek.

"Excellent job son" My dad says to me with an actual smile on his face.

"Summa cum Laude, Christian Trevelyan Grey". The whole crowd erupts and my mom and dad finally reach my side. I accept the medal and grab my diploma while shaking the hand of Gates. Me and my parents then step to the side to let our picture be taken by the photographer.

"Now Christian you better smile or else you're getting in trouble" my mom whispers to me while posing for the camera.

"Of course mother" I reply while giving the camera my full 10000 megawatt smile.

"We're proud of you Christian, to all you've become. We couldn't have asked for a better son than you". My dad whispers in my ear. Yeah right, I know they could have done way better than me. I'm just glad they never gave up. But of course I didn't tell them that, I just gave thanks as well. I think I did my dad proud today. If I did, hopefully I can get the start-up money I need for my business. After the pictures had been taken, they went back to their seat and now I had to endure having to wait a couple of hours waiting for everyone else to get their diplomas to finish.

While sitting I contemplate getting a sub once I'm back in Seattle. I feel like I need to have an outlet for my sexual needs once my business has picked up. I know I can't have a sub while my business in its early stages, can I? I think I can afford the distraction. After all I can never go back to Elena after all that has happened. She may have helped me gain control but she pushed my limit. I told her I didn't like to be shared or anally raped or be touched on my chest and upper back, yet she ignored all of those. I just got pushed too much and I decided to leave her. She of course begged me to come back, apologizing to me countless times but enough is enough. When Linc walked in a few months ago while she was having a session with her new submissive, he went berserk. He absolutely crushed her. 5 of her ribs were broken, her left leg and right arm were broken too. And her face, it was completely distorted, I'm not sure if she can recover from that even with the plastic surgery. I mean I didn't feel anything anymore for her but still I can't just have let him to that to her. I don't know why I ever found her attractive. I guess it was all the makeup. Without it, she was hideous. Age not having served her well. I'm glad I ended things with her before I left for Harvard. Unfortunately for her, she's still in a coma up till now. She's lucky that she managed to set a video camera in her room when look beat her, apparently she was videotaping her sexcapade for insurance, that way she had something for blackmail against not only Linc but for her submissive. Apparently her current submissive has the incriminating video and has used it to blackmail Linc. I mean if that ever got out, that he beat his wife to the point that she got into a coma, he would be ruined. His company would be left in tatters and he would sent immediately to the doghouse. So right now Linc is paying all of her bills while supporting her current submissive as well. I must find out his name. Also he apparently plans to divorce her once she has woken up and offer her to move to the east coast. Doubt that'll happen. Elena has spent far too long trying to gain a reputation in Seattle. Now that she's gotten into my mom's inner circle, she certainly won't let go that easily. My mom has been visiting her almost once a week in the hospital. _I_ _wonder what my mom would do if she found out about our secret. _Luckily her housekeeper, Nora, is faithful to her. She takes care of her house while she's still knocked out. I wonder if she has an incriminating picture or video of me though. Fuck! No one can ever find out about it. I must ask her once she's awake.

I realize that the ceremony is finally over. Thank God! I could not just sit there next to where Bill Gates was giving the diplomas while almost every other girl, and some guys, were blatantly ogling me. Don't people know it's rude to stare? After the ceremony, I start talking to the president but in the corner of my eye, I see my family walking over to me.

"Hey bro! Congrats man! Didn't know you thought of me as someone who saved you from the pits of Hell. Makes me look like Van Helsing or something" Elliot says giving me a high-five while giving me a shit eating grin. Yeah yeah I guess I called him that, but the truth is that he is. He never gave up on me and continued to have my back even when I was treating him like shit. I owe him a lot. Mia meanwhile gently hugs me and wishes me congratulations. She's the only one that has ever been this close to me, and we aren't even touching that much. I know she would never hurt me since she came into my life as a baby. There was just no way she would hurt me. And yet she still can't touch me intimately despite me knowing she's not a threat. Man I'm so fucked up.

"Thank you Elliot, Mia" I reply curtly before turning my attention to Gates and the president

"Mr. Gates, President Chambers, this is my father Carrick, my mother Grace, my brother Elliot and my sister Mia." I then focus on them. "Guys, this is Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and this is President Chambers, president of Harvard."

"Pleasure to meet you" Gates smiles and shakes hands with my family along with Chambers.

"You have a brilliant son here" says Chambers while patting my shoulder. Thankfully he didn't reach for my back. "Have to say, he's one of the best students Harvard has had. We'll miss him here, especially the rowing team. We have no doubt he'll be successful." It's true, I have been one of their best students. Considering the fact that I didn't cause any trouble, had great grades and had a pretty face, they wanted to use and market me. They wanted to put me on the school website and some other forms of marketing. _Yeah, that was never going to happen. _Rowing though is something I'm going to miss. It was my past time when I couldn't get laid or wasn't busy with school work. It was a release of some sort. I was made captain this year and I have to say we did well. We managed to beat our rivals and I was even declared as 'Harvard's Golden Boy' according to one of the articles in the Crimson. It was pretty annoying and although they meant well, the attention I got from it was unneeded. Then again all the attention I ever go in the Crimson was unneeded, and believe me, I got into the Crimson a lot.

"Thank you, we're proud of him immensely" my Father beams. Yep he's definitely proud. My inner conscious does some somersaults in celebration.

"I hear you guys are from Seattle" Gates says. My family nods. "Well if I'm ever around there, we should all meet up sometime and schedule lunch. I'm sure by the next time I'm there, Christian here will already be tearing up the business world."

"Sounds like a brilliant idea Mr. Gates" My mother replies. Maybe looking for Melinda Gates to join her social circle?

"Please call me Bill" Gates replies back.

"Well we should be going" Chambers suddenly says. "We have a few meetings to attend. Goodbye everyone, pleasure to meet you all. And Christian," he suddenly stops and looks me in the eye. "Do us proud." And with that they walk away. Thank fuck.

"Well everyone, I think that's a wrap. Let's meet at Giulia at 6:30. I've already made reservations. Now me and Grace here will go back to the hotel and rest. The plane ride last night was rough and we still haven't had rested enough. Where will you all be headed?" dad asks all of us. Well the ceremony started at 10:00am, and now that it's 3:00, I have some time to kill. Think I'm gonna catch some shuteye after this busy week.

Mia decides to go 'explore' the area, whatever that means. Elliot meanwhile decides to 'check out the scene' aka go to some random bar, pick up a chick and get laid. He even invites me.

"Hey bro lets go to a bar. You know drink a bit. Talk. Maybe even find some pretty ladies." He says while winking at me.

"Nah. I'm gonna go take a nap". I reply.

"Come one Christian, don't you think it's time you finally popped your cherry? Come on with the way you look, the fact that you're summa cum laude and the fact that you're going with me, we should find a lovely lady for you in no time. Or guy. Whatever floats your boat." He says to me. Oh brother, if you only knew.

"Fuck off Elliot" and with that I head back to my apartment. I decided to not have a car during my stay here. I preferred to be able to walk around the grounds and enjoy the views. I also got some extra exercise out of it. I've already packed my stuff and sent them back to my parent's Bellevue home, including that box from my apartment building which I haven't opened yet. It was given to me last week but I've been busy lately so I just sent it home. Probably nothing special. As I walk back to my apartment, I see tons of people talking with their friends and families. Hugging and kissing each other. I wonder if I'll ever have that. Just the intimacy and closeness you get from lovers and friends or even from my own family. When I was giving my speech a while ago talking all about not giving up, I was sincere. I wonder if I shouldn't give up then on trying to find that sort of intimacy. Hah! What am I talking about? Of course that'll never happen. Who could love and care about such a fucked up monster like me. My family must just feel sorry for me and are now offering me pity, that's why they never gave up on me. As for friends and lovers, never had any, just 1 domme who couldn't control herself and some sex partners who were be forgotten after a couple of hours.

While continuing walking I encounter some people congratulating me on my speech and my honors. I just nod at them and continue walking. Why can't they get that I don't give a shit what they think? I can't prevent some of the hungry gazes being thrown my way though. Some of the women purposely stop me and try to flirt with me, but they're not my type. I have to admit though without trying to sound vain, I'm a very good looking bastard. I wonder if I've been given my looks and smarts to try and make up the bad life I've endured so far. No way, that'll never be enough to make up for what I've been through. Anyway I'm wearing a neutral colored ensemble and I have to say, I'm pulling it off based on the looks I've been getting. Mia did say that my looks are different from the rest. She said that although a lot of guys are hot, I'm apparently a class above them thanks to my 'smoldering gray eyes that just draw you in, my apparent perfect face contortion and the enigmatic aura that I just exude that leaves women wanting' or so she says. I just have to laugh at that. Women, such complicated creatures.

I reach this sort of party on the sidewalks that I have to go through in order to reach my apartment. I tried to avoid as much interaction with others as much as possible but I guess it's time to get things over with.

It's crowded and everyone is drinking and dancing to the beat. Some sort of song by the black eyed peas about having a good night. I'm halfway out of here when someone recognizes me.

"Hey! It's Grey! Come over here and have a drink" Some guys shouts. I think its Patowski, one of my rowing teammates. Not so sure though. He seems wasted. I turn and look and just as I expected everyone looks at me now. I just wave my hand and proceed to walk through the crowd. Being stopped occasionally for congratulations. When I finally near the exit, some girl suddenly blocks my way but I'm in full stride so I barge into her causing her to fall and to spill her drink.

"Hey watch it! You owe me a drink!" the girl says

"I am so sorry. I didn't look where I was going". I offer her my hand, which she takes and I help her up. When I see her, I'm flabbergasted.

"Madeline Myers" She's also taken aback but quickly composes herself before giving me one of those trademark grins.

"Christian Grey. Haven't seen you in almost a year. Nice speech you made there. Congrats in being summa cum laude. What happened to you? Busy trying to be Master of the Universe? I missed you ya know?" she smiles at me while winking. She is one of the few people that can get away with talking to me like that.

"Been busy. Missed you too. Sorry again about toppling you over. I gotta go though. Nice seeing you". I tell her then leave her back to her friends who seem to be gaping in shock that I talked to her. _What's the big deal? I guess maybe since no one has seen you ever talk to women in that sort of manner. Wait Did I just say I missed her? Fuck! When did I begin to say things like that?_

A couple of weeks after leaving Elena for Harvard, I realized that I needed to get laid soon. I mean I may have been weird but I was still just a red blooded male who needs some relief every once in a while. I tried going to some BDSM clubs but I couldn't stay there for long or be seen there too many times. If I did, they would remember my face and I couldn't have that. Although there might have been an oath to secrecy, the nearest BDSM club was unfortunately surrounded by clubs and food joints where people always hang out in, meaning to get to the BDSM club, I would have had to walk by the night clubs and restaurants and food joints and no doubt people would recognize me. And I couldn't go to the farther BDSM clubs as they were too far away and would have taken too much time to get there, considering I pretty much had a tight schedule throughout my stay here with academics and rowing and I could not afford for people to find out. No one can ever find out about my lifestyle. Especially when I become rich and have my own company, now that would give me and my business a bad reputation. If only people understood that BDSM is not just plainly hitting people and causing them pain. If only they could understand the pleasure aspect of it, it would be less of a taboo and not thought of negatively. Also the S&M clubs in Harvard were also a no go for the same reasons.

Anyway since I couldn't go to the BDSM club all the time, I had to have casual sex with some of my fellow students to relieve myself. Trust me, there is only so much your hand can do. Of course all the women I've slept with were beautiful and were brunettes. I just got a thing for brunettes. I am no longer attracted to blondes, thanks to Elena. Madeline though was different from the rest of those brunettes. She was the definitely the prettiest and the smartest of the 15 women I've slept with in Harvard, not counting the BDSM clubs where I definitely had more. She turned out to be my classmate in most of my general education subjects in my first 2 years in Harvard. She was also my partner for the projects and reports when we had to work with pairs. She just got me. She wasn't like the other women who tried to push their luck with me too much. She was one of the few who wouldn't bother me. It's like she just knew I had a lot on my plate. Of course with us working together closely very often and us being both attractive, we gave in to each other. She's the only woman I've slept more than once with. We slept together like 11 times maybe? She was just that good. I guess that made us fuck buddies or something? I mean we never really had a schedule, we would just hook up if we ever ran into each other and were in the mood. I mean it's not like we were friends, I think because I never really had any friends, but she was definitely the closest anyone has been with me during my stay here at Harvard. She was the perfect fuck. She just knew what she was doing. The movement of her hips when I thrust into her, the look on her face when she reached her breaking point, the way she screamed my name as if it was something to be worshipped. I mean it's not like she's a slut or anything. She's far from that actually. She's rich from what I remember, her saying that her mom was a designer and her dad was an engineer and she'll probably be rich in the future, having been a chemistry major, she'll probably find work fast. She was definitely smart, I remember she was able to keep up with me on a conversation about politics unlike those bimbos who tried their luck with me talking about fashion and shit. She was classy and dignified outside but an absolute beast in the bedroom. Trust me, she was all woman. I think maybe the sexual attraction was just that great. I do wonder why did I run into her today. I haven't seen her a lot since we were no longer classmates. How weird

I finally reach my apartment. I check my watch and see that I have 3 more hours before having to meet my family. Just enough time for a quick snooze and shower. I whip out my key and open the door. Just as I'm about to close it, I see someone stop it from closing. What in the world is Madeline doing here?

**A/N **

**Chambers is not the real name of Harvard's president.**

**As for eating at Giulia, I just randomly googled for restaurants near Harvard and I decided to pick that one since it was Italian and sounded formal.**

**I also just invented the locations of the BDSM clubs. Basically I invented most of the aspects in this story, so please don't get mad if I got things wrong. Ciao **


	2. We meet again

**NOTICE: I know I'll probably receive a lot of ire for this, but I am informing you now in case some of you are sensitive. Christian will have SEX with Madeline in this chapter. So skip that part if you want. Sorry if some of you might not like this event but I decided to go with it. I can assure you though that Ana will still be "the one" for Christian, he's just sewing his wild oats like any young, attractive, red blooded male if you will. Now for those that might complain that this I said that this wasn't a cheating story, he technically doesn't cheat as he has not even met Ana yet (because some readers might think of cheating in a story as having no other partners within the time period).**

**Now for the guest reviewer, I respect your humble opinion and thank you for giving it in a respectable manner. I guess I should have chosen my words better regarding the "bimbos" comment. I'm sorry about the seemingly immatureness of how Christian thinks. My English isn't the best and hopefully this will only help me in honing my English and writing skills. Sorry for the grammatical errors I left in the previous chapter. It was rushed thus I was unable to proofread. I'll try to use more discretion with my words. Note, I will delete disrespectful comments.**

**Another matter, the reason I'm going to give Madeline a bit of story time here is because I want to have some background insight on my characters. I know some of you might be upset with that but I don't see Ana as completely breaking down Christian. I think there should be a few cracks for her to work on in the first place. All I can say is HEA assured and that Christian has never had and will never have any romantic feelings for Madeline. Any "connection" they might have had has been strictly sexual and platonic…at least for Christian. Christian will meet Ana in a few chapters. Meanwhile we probably won't see Madeline for a while after chapter 3.**

**I'd also like to remind that this story is AU/OOC so that might explain some things you think might be wrong with the story or the characters.**

**Lastly, I have started a new Pinterest page for this story. You can copy the URL of the link at my profile page or you can search for it itself on Pinterest. Title of the board is: "21 Shades of Grey".**

**Madeline's POV:**

"Here's to us" Jade says while holding up her drink. All of us in our little mini group recognize her and raise us drinks in return.

"Cheers!" we all say in unison before taking a gulp.

Graduation. The day I've been waiting for. After working so hard for the past few years, I can firmly say that I'm proud of what I accomplished. I've been a member of the Harvard Chemistry club since freshman year and have been its head for the past 2 years. Sadly my reign is coming to an end but at least I've left on a high. I'm the top Chemistry graduate and have certainly left my mark on the club. I never once got in trouble and even helped my sorority improve its overall standard and helped improve and nurture Greek Life in Harvard. Despite what I've accomplished why do I feel something lacking? Grades? Nope. Social Life? Nope. Friends? Definitely not. It seems like I have it all. Why do I feel this way then?

"Hopefully we see each other again soon after we leave Harvard" Jade says.

"Definitely. We'll see each other later though right? Dinner at Giulia by 6:30?" Maya asks us all

"Yes. Why do our parents have to come though?" Nikki complains

"Because they want to see what the Fearsome Fivesome is all about! Plus don't worry, we'll have drinks later somewhere after dinner once our parents go back to their hotels." I reply to Nikki. Yes the Fearsome Fivesome. That's what Nikki, Jade, Maya, Heather and I call our little group. All Chemistry majors who are privileged and smart enough to have made a difference during our stay. It's too bad we'll have to separate though. Only I live in the Northwest. Maya lives in New York while Heather, Jade and Nikki live in California. We all met on freshman orientation and just instantly connected. We must meet again once we separate.

"Looks like we're out of drinks" Maya complains

'I'll go get some" I offer even though I still have a bit of mine. I turn to walk but suddenly something hits me on the side hard and I fall on the floor, causing me to spill the rest of my drink.

"Hey watch it! You owe me a drink!" What an asshole. Didn't he watch where he was going?

"I'm so sorry. I didn't look where I was going." Yeah I got that. There is something familiar about that voice though. I see at the corner of my eye him offering his hand so I take it. He helps me up and there it is. No wonder the voice sounded familiar. The voice belonged to no other than Christian Grey.

"Madeline Myers" he says looking shocked to see me.

"Christian Grey" I say after composing myself. "Haven't seen you in almost a year. Nice speech you made there. Congrats on being summa cum laude." I lie, I didn't hear his speech. I just heard from someone saying how good he was and that he graduated top of his class. "What happened to you? Too busy trying to be Master of the Universe? I missed you ya know." I say while giving him one of my patented smiles and winking at him. It's true though. After we were no longer classmates, we never really saw each other anymore. Guess we were both too busy with our own activities. But hey it worked out well. We both finished on top. Christian though was different. He was constantly always the best at pretty much everything that mattered. I don't even think it was because of a competitive streak. It seemed like he was just that brilliant. No one was at his level. People loved him all around. Being smart, incredibly good looking and having a squeaky clean reputation, he was treated like he was on top of the world. The bastard didn't even acknowledge it though. It seemed like he was repulsed by the idea of him being given so much attention. Guess I can't judge him for that. Not an attention seeker myself, I admire that in him. _Wait, did I say I miss him? What the Fuck?_

"Been busy. Missed you too. Sorry again about toppling you over. I gotta go though. Nice seeing you." He says before turning to maneuver through the bar and leave. He never even got me my drink. I turn around and see all my girls staring at me like I'm some sort of circus freak.

"What?" I say feeling a bit affronted with their stares. They're my friends and all but don't they know it's rude to stare?

"Maddie, that was Christian Grey" Nikki says to me. So what? Am I missing something?

"I know that. He's my friend." I reply

"He's your friend?" Is he? I mean we did talk a lot when we slept together but we never really hung out outside except when we had a project or paper to pass.

"Yeah" I reply

"God's gift to women. Harvard's golden boy and Harvard's most eligible bachelor is your friend?" Ha! I laugh at those titles given to him by the Crimson. Those titles were appropriate though. He's the best piece of ass I've ever seen. He was so annoyed with them when he read them that he basically threw the paper out the window then proceeded to fuck me so hard I could barely walk. Sigh. I miss that.

"Yeah. Why?" I don't see the big deal in this.

"Christian Grey doesn't have friends. He has acquaintances. Even his rowing teammates don't know him that well and you say you're his friend?"

"Um Yeah?" I reply

"Holy Shit! Tell me what's he like? What are his likes? What are his dislikes? Is he really that mysterious? Have you slept with him?"

"Whoa calm down! First of all, how do you know he didn't have any friends? Even I didn't know that." Hmm. How could I have not noticed that before?

"Well I sorta follow the blogs and articles related to him. I may even have started some of the articles about him." Nikki says having the decency to look embarrassed.

"Really?" Jade suddenly pops up. Looking incredulously at Nikki.

"What? He's incredibly hot and there's just something about him that draws me in. He exudes this aura. And his eyes. Oh My God they are striking. Have you seen them? First thing I noticed about him." True. He does exude this aura and confidence that just makes you look and admire him when he enters a room. He commands your presence. And those eyes, they are just amazing. Most captivating set I've ever seen. There's something about them though. I can read people pretty well and there's something sad in his eyes. Lonely even maybe.

"True that" Maya says

"Anyway, back to Maddie. Spill." Nikki says to me.

"Well we were classmates in some of my general education classes. We were partners most of the time for schoolwork. He's quite brilliant. Smartest kid I've seen. And yes we did sleep together. Multiple times in fact." I say nonchalantly while shrugging my shoulders.

"Holy Shit! Multiple times? Way to go Maddie! We almost thought you were a saint. Anyway was he good?" heather suddenly asks after being quiet for most of the time.

"Wait, how could you say I was a saint?" I'm curious about this.

"Well you seemed to be completely focused on your school and club work. You only drank when you were with us. You were the most responsible of all of us and we've never really seen you with a guy so…" Jade says

"Just because I wasn't a party girl didn't mean I was a saint. I have to say I'm quite the beast in the bedroom." Hey, I never saw or heard Christian complain. In fact, I know I can make him cum as hard as he can if I wanted to.

"Wow! Go Maddie! Anyway was he good?" Nikki asks eagerly. Jeez. I wonder if she's the founder of Christian Grey fan club here in Harvard. Yes, they actually made one. How utterly ridiculous.

"Better than good. He was the best fuck I've ever had. I think nothing will ever compare to him. He always made me cum multiple times. And that was just with the foreplay! And yes. He is big. No wait scratch that, he is ginormous. I would have been terrified if I was a virgin. If I was, I might have been afraid that he would have left my vagina permanently open thanks to his size."

"Oh My God!" Nikki says dramatically and starts fanning herself while blushing. Jesus Christ.

"Anyway what was he doing here just now?" Heather asks.

"I don't know. I haven't slept with him in like 10 months. Been busy with school and all. Must have just been coincidence that we ran into each other right now." I reply

"Do you have feelings for him Maddie?" Jade asks me. Do I?

"I don't know. I mean the sexual attraction has always been there for me. And I think we're friends. I mean I do think I know him a lot better than most people here. The thing he's actually respectful unlike most of the guys here." I motion them to look around the bar and we see a lot of drunk frat boys who are too loud and keep on doing but play some games and ogle the women around them. "He isn't too shabby I have to say. Plus we're leaving Harvard, I doubt we'll see each other again." Hmm. Are these feelings I've been developing?

"Shabby? I'll say perfect." Nikki snorts.

"He's definitely in a class of his own. Above the rest." Heather says

"Maddie! You should go to him! Talk to him and see if you can get some of his lovin' before he leaves Harvard!" Jade shouts at me all of sudden.

"What? Why? How?" I mutter.

"Well you say you might have feelings for him. Now's the best time to test that. If you have some then you need to fight for him. If not then might as well enjoy the best fuck you've ever had one more time. After all, you have been through a lot these past few months with graduation, club and extra-curricular activities." Jade says. Hmm fair points. I guess it's worth the risk plus I wouldn't mind having another slice of heaven otherwise known as Christian Grey again.

"Why not? But wait, do I just barge into him asking for a fuck then talk?" I ask

"Hmm let me think." Jade says. She looks around before stopping and looking like she just had a brilliant idea. "There's a handkerchief there." She points to a spot near where I spilled my drink and I do see a blue handkerchief there. "Is it his?" She asks. I look at it closely before seeing the initials C.T.G. intricately sewn on one of the corners.

"Yep. It has his initials on it" I reply

"Well there's your chance girl! Go take it! He shouldn't have made it far yet. Just follow him casually to his place. Once he arrives there, give him the handkerchief then ask for a drink for having to walk over to his place. After drinking, talk to him a bit, seduce him then unleash the beast within!" Jade winks at me.

"Alright. Wish me luck ladies!" I say but before leaving Nikki says something first.

"Girl once you arrive at dinner, you must have staked your claim already on him or else we're finding him and laying our claws into him!" Nikki says

"Okay girls. See ya." I reply and with that I head out of the bar. I try to look for him and see him at the very farthest reach of my view before he makes a turn left. I quickly run to try and close the gap and follow him. Once I've maintained a safe distance where he won't notice me, I start walking instead. After a while I notice he lives in one of the more opulent apartment blocks around. I guess we have similar tastes except my apartment block is a bit nearer to campus. I see him walking and stopping finally in front of what I assume is his unit. He opens the door and moves to close it but I run towards him and stop the door with my hand.

"Madeline?" Christian says to me. Looking very surprised at why I'm here.

"Hi Christian. May I come in?" I ask him.

"Why?" he asks

"I just wanna talk" I reply. Please say okay.

"Sorry. Maybe next time." He replies. Not the response I was looking for. Plus I'm not even sure if there's a next time.

"Please. You left your handkerchief at the bar and I had to follow you all the way here since I didn't wanna shout your name through the crowd. I know you don't like getting called out in public. Plus I had to run to catch up to you. I need a drink. You owe me one remember?" I say then wink at him. I hope this works.

After a moment of thinking he finally lets me in. Thank God for that! I go in and see a very nice apartment. Very big and spacious. Certainly too big for one living by himself. He certainly is wealthy, or his family is. A beautiful view of the street and some landmarks are available but the best part here is that you have a perfect view of the sunrise and sunset. He doesn't have much items here though.

I sit on the couch in the living room and he goes into what I see is his bedroom. _Oooh He has a big bed. Perfect! _He opens a bag and gets a water bottle out before heading back to me. While walking back, I check him out a bit. He can definitely pull off anything he wears.

"Here you go. Sorry, I only have bottled water left since I've sent most of my stuff home already." Explains the lack of furniture or personal belongings. He says to me before leaning on the doorframe to his bedroom. I think he's checking me out a bit. I think I look good right now.

"No problem. Thanks. Nice place you got here. What are you doing with it once you leave?" I say then proceed to taking a gulp of water.

"Thanks. My parents are selling it to some new student." He replies and waits for me to finish drinking before he says something again, looking at me as if he's trying to read me, I'm not giving anything away though.

"So what do you want to talk about?" He asks me after I've finished drinking.

"We're friends right?" I ask him

"What?" he replies

"I said we're friends right? Got hearing problems Grey?" I say and he smirks.

"No. I was just surprised by the question." He says back

"So are we?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Well I think we're friends and if I say we're friends then we're friends."

"How do you say we're friends?" he asks again

"Well I think I know you more than anyone else does in Harvard, you're slightly less formal to me than the rest of the people you talk to and I think we're on the same wavelength. We get each other. We don't mind in what's not our business and we work efficiently to get things done." I try to relay the fact that we have somewhat the same family background of having wealthy parents, we had sort of the same academic lives in school and it doesn't hurt that I wasn't one of the few girls that didn't ogle him all the time especially in class. I mean I admit I was star struck by him but I was always able to compose myself.

"You don't know the real me." He replies deadpan. He has his poker face on I notice.

"I know enough to be your friend" I reply back. Fuck! I hope this works.

"I admit you know me quite better than anyone else here in Harvard but you've hardly seen anything of me yet."

"Whatever. Are you my friend or not?" I get to the point.

"I thought you already decided we were friends?" he says while smirking at me. Bastard.

"I know I consider you as a friend but I want to know if you consider us as friends."

"I don't know how someone who knows you so little could become your friend." This guy's impossible! He never lets anyone close. No wonder he has no friends. He seems to be guarding something though. It's like he's protecting himself from something.

"So what's the real reason you came here?" he asks all of a sudden. What?

"What do you mean? I came here to give you back your handkerchief and to talk. That's it." I stand and a bit tall and move closer to him. Pushing my breasts out. To my delight he notices. _Finally!_

"You obviously came here for more than that. So tell me why you really came here." Fuck! I came here to read him not the other way around.

"Look like I said, I just wanted to know if we were friends or not. Obviously you don't think so, so I better just leave." Fuck that did not go as I planned.

"Why does it matter so much to you for us to be friends?" Do I tell him the truth?

"I just think we could be good friends. My mother told me that when you find a true friend, never let go and I think we could be good friends. I see you Christian. I see the pain in your eyes." I guess I surprised him with that as his eyes widen and he shifts a bit.

I sigh and turn to leave but I accidentally hit a table and some papers fall from the ground. I bend over to pick them up when all of a sudden, I see him stand right behind me and grab my ass. What the hell! I jump up in surprise and look at him. Admittedly, it turned me on.

"I know what you're doing" he says to me in a sultry voice. _Oh my_

"What do you mean?" I'm confused

"I know you were planning to seduce me when you first came in here. Don't bother trying to deny it. I saw how you were checking me out." I'm flabbergasted. How did he know?

"How did you know?" he smirks at me and then replies

"I told you, I can read people well. And I read you loud and clear."

"Is that all you read?" Hopefully he didn't read that I wanted more from him.

"I did read that you wanted me to fuck you hard and that you really did want me to be your friend but other than that none." Oh Thank God. I see the desire in his eyes the way he's looking at me up and down. I getting wet already just looking at him.

"You know, you could have just told me you wanted sex. You're lucky I've been wound up and hadn't had sex in over 2 months and I know you're very good."

"2 months? That's nothing. I haven't had sex in 10 months. The last time I had sex was with you!" I say. He looks at me thinking how I could have not have sex for so long so I just say "I've just been too busy." This seems to please him as he proceeds to lock the door to the apartment, he moves me to the bedroom and then locks the door. Once he locks the door, I can't take it anymore. I put my arms around his neck and proceed kiss him hard. He's caught surprised but I don't care. I love the feeling of his lips. They are so soft. He pulls away though after a few seconds much to my annoyance. _Why won't he kiss me?_

My worries are soon gone though as he pins me to the wall and starts to suck and kiss on my neck and my collarbone. _Yes! This is it! _I move my arms to his neck while his arms proceed to caress my back. His hands then move down to my hips then to my ass where he cups my ass cheeks. While he still nibbles on my neck, he pulls the bottom of my dress up exposing my ass and then he proceeds to knead my cheeks. He kneads and squeezes and cups and feels them so hard. As if he was trying to yank them off my body which is so hot! He keeps kneading my ass while he rubs his erection against my sex which makes me so wet and I start to groan. "Ohhhhhhhh".

He proceeds to remove my dress. Once it's off he tosses it to the side, leaving me in nothing but my underwear. He then proceeds to peel off my panties at the same time I take off my bra. After that, he pulls me up and pins me to the wall again. This time I wrap my legs around his waist. I wrap my arms around his neck again as he kisses my neck again. I lean my neck back to give him a better angle and he makes me yelp when he suddenly bites my left nipple. "Ahhhhhhh!" He then begins his utter devouring of my breasts. He leaves no crease untouched as his tongue and teeth completely knead and bite down my breasts and nipples. Fuck! If he keeps this up, my nipples just might fall off!

He's still not done and this time he rocks his hips on my naked sex while he starts to move his face in the valley between my breasts and just lick the skin there thorough. He licks the very middle then he licks the curves of the sides of my breasts and then he uses his mouth on the top and bottom of my breasts. It's as if he's trying to cover all angles. Eventually he moves to my nipples where he starts to lick, bite then suck on them. It's all just too much as I start to cum so hard and only then does he let me go.

"I never knew you were a breast man." I say while trying to recover. And trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh trust me. I love me a good pair of breasts." He says then winks at me and that's my cue. I kneel in front of him and start taking off his pants and boxers at the same time. When I pull them down, I see his fully erect member greet me as if it were giving me a salute, which I proceed to salute back. I start to grab and stroke it and this causes him to moan. "Fuck!" he screams. This only fuels me more. I then start to lick the top of his penis before swallowing him whole and deep throating him in one slow and delicate strike. "Ohhhhh Fuckkkkkk!" He screams. I start to suck on him thoroughly. Making sure I suck every inch of him as he sucked every inch of my breasts. I look up and see his head back, his face in complete ecstasy and I love it! While sucking on his cock, I swallow at the same time to give him that extra goodness he deserves, and frankly I also do it because his cock is absolutely delicious!

I decide to take it up a notch and after one last suck, I stop. I look up at him and he looks confused but before he can say anything, I make him sit on the edge of the bed. Once he's positioned, I start sucking again only this time, I put his cock in the valley between my breasts and let him fuck my tits.

"Fuck! This is so hot!" he screams. I push my breasts together and move his cock up and down in between them, using my saliva as the lubrication he needs. "Fuck you need to stop or else I'm gonna cum already." When he says this, I then start sucking and licking his tip harder while my his shaft keeps moving up and down between my breasts in a sturdy motion. Apparently this drives him over the edge as he cums violently inside my mouth. Fuck! Who knew he could come this much? I might choke to death if I don't swallow all of this soon. After licking him clean, he suddenly lies down on the bed and catches his breath for a while. After a few moments, he speaks.

"I wanna try something. I wanna tie your hands up to the board okay?"

"As long as the restraint isn't too hard then okay." Who knew he liked it kinky?

He then lies me down on the bed and removes his tie. He uses it to ties my hands together and bind them to the post on the headboard. When he properly secures them, I can no longer escape. I am at mercy to whatever he may have planned.

"You're still on birth control right?" He asks.

"Of course"

He then opens my legs and starts to grab his cock. He rubs the tip repeatedly in a come hither motion against my folds. "Just fucking put it in already!" This is frustrating. He just smirks at me before finally entering me. He gives me a few seconds to adjust to his size before he moves hard and fast. This is unbelievable. He's going the fastest I've ever seen him go. I fear that he might tear me apart at this pace. Yet I feel absolutely ecstatic at this. This is what I felt was missing when I was thinking in the bar a while ago. I needed this.

My walls start to contract on his cock and just when I'm about to blow, he pulls out me. What the fucking hell! What the fuck is he doing? Just when I'm about to protest, he turns me around and forces me up on my knees. With my hands still bound to the bedpost, He uses his arms to grab my hips and support my weight before he thrusts inside me again. Fuck this is so hot! The fact that if he lets go of my hips, I'll fall down onto the bed, taking his cock with him maybe. He even continues that agonizing pace he set a while ago. He's fucking me so hard I hear his body keep hitting my hips with that delightful sound you only hear when you're being fucked hard from behind. I fucking love it! He keeps thrusting into me with full force before slowing down. Does this man not tire?

I feel myself getting closer and closer to exploding and finally after one hard thrust, the coil snaps and I release the floodgates, literally. After a few more thrusts, he finally climaxes as well. _Finally! _I would not have been able to survive more than that.

"Wow" I say. He just keeps quiet as we catch our breaths. After a while he stands up, grabs something from the bag which turns out to be a carton of tissues. He wipes himself clean first before wiping me clean thoroughly. After he cleans me, he unties me and proceeds to lay back on the bed. I suddenly feel tiredness taking over me and I fall asleep on my side of the bed, feeling absolute bliss.

/

I wake after my nap and see that it's 6:00 pm. Fuck! I quickly get out of bed and head straight to the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror and see that beside some out of place hair, I'm fine. I grab the comb from my purse and proceed to brush my hair out. After stroking it enough I head back to the bedroom to put on my clothes. I see that Christian is still asleep though. He looks adorable while asleep. Irresistibly I tiptoe toward him and check if he's still awake. I think he's asleep so I then proceed to kiss him on the lips. Oh yes his lips are so soft. This is absolute heaven. There is nothing else better than feeling your lips on Christian Grey's.

While still lip locked, I see him start to move so I reluctantly break the kiss apart and after a few seconds, he awakes.

"What time is it?" He asks

"6:15 pm" I say.

"Fuck!" He suddenly bolts up from bed and heads to the bathroom. I then just put on my clothes one by one and tell him I'm about to leave as I have dinner plans when after all but 5 minutes he gets out of the bathroom looking fully dressed and ready to go. Even after just getting fucked, he looks good. How unfair. Can this man make everything look sexy? I notice though that he hasn't bothered to change clothes.

"Are you going out?" I ask.

"Yes. I'm meeting my family so you need to leave as well." Okay. Couldn't he have said that in a nicer way?

"Yeah well I need to leave too. Having dinner with my parents and friends as well tonight." I say. He just nods and motions for us to go out of the apartment. Once we're out he locks the door and asks me where I'm headed.

"Giulia" I say and he then stares at me for a second and shakes his head.

"What?" I ask.

"That's where I'm meeting my parents too." He says and then proceeds to walk. I'm momentarily surprised before I fix myself and follow him.

"What a coincidence" He says to me

"What?"

"The fact that we ran into each other today, had sex and now are going to eat in the same restaurant."

"Yeah" I mutter. What a coincidence in deed. Or maybe this was fate? Is this some sign from the universe or something?

We continue to walk in silence when he finally speaks up. "You know I think we could be friends." He says to me. Inside, my heart swells with joy. Yes!

"Thanks" I say. When we're near the restaurant I notice there are still some parties going on. I even notice some women looking at me funny and seemingly talking about me. Why? It takes me a minute before I realize that I'm walking with the Christian Grey and they're not, _Ha! You all thought he was gay weren't you? _I try and milk this even more by talking to him and making light conversation.

While he's talking about the current state of the economy, we finally reach the restaurant. To my delight he opens the door for me. This is another one of the things that sets Christian Grey apart from the rest. He is such a gentleman and so chivalrous. He never forgets his manners. Heck he even always wiped me clean after sex. Have you ever heard of another guy that has done that? Nope.

I'm saddened by the fact though that I have to now sit away from him for a while when he is so near. Once I get in, I see my friends, their families and my family all huddled around some tables. Beside them is another family. A good looking family that. In fact the blonde guy from that other family is already flirting with Heather. _Oh Boy. _I wonder where Christian's family is seated.

Christian then suddenly walks past me and towards the other family.

"Mother" he says while kissing the cheek of the woman there. What? That's his family? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. They all look gorgeous. The men look handsome while the women are wearing dresses with flower designs and all look so beautiful. I look up and see my family and my friends. I see my friends grinning at me, probably knowing I got laid. Oh boy. I hope I can get through the night.

**A/N Next chapter will have more Madeline but Chapter 4 might involve Ana already. Stay tuned.**


	3. Going home

**As expected, a lot of people didn't like the development in my story. I'm not sorry for writing it, but I do understand and respect all on your opinions on that matter. Thank you all for refraining from sending in nasty reviews.**

**We won't be seeing Madeline for a while after this chapter. Next chapter, the Grey clan goes back to Seattle and Christian starts his business. He will meet Ana within the next couple of chapters.**

**Grace's POV**

Oh I'm so proud of Christian! He's accomplished so much despite everything he's been through. I remember the first time I saw him at Detroit Memorial Hospital. What I saw completely broke my heart.

I had just finished my shift and was going to head home when one of the nurses suddenly asked for my help with a difficult child. I knew that they knew I was the expert when it came to how to handle children so I just went along with her. If I could help any child in need, I would. So I followed her and when I when I entered the treatment room, my heart broke in two. The boy I saw was in terrible shape. He was wearing nothing but some worn out shorts. His body was completely malnourished He was all skin and bones. His eyes looked bloodshot and he looked so weak that any gust of wind looked like it could completely topple him over.

I went towards him asking him for his name and other details about him but he just wouldn't speak. I assume it was because of the extreme trauma he experienced. I couldn't stop with the waterworks though when he slapped my hand away after I was using a cloth to clean his chest. That's when I saw why he pulled away from me. There were small white scars all over his chest and his back too. I recognized those scars. I've treated enough abused teens and adults to know what they were. They were cigarette burns! And he had multiple burns all over him as a small child! I could not believe anyone could have been so cruel.

I was then informed that his mother had died of an overdose and he never knew his father. I knew at that time that this was a sign from the heavens or something. I was given this chance to save and care for this boy and barring any family relatives coming and claiming him, no one was going to stop me.

I personally made sure I was the boy's doctor. I felt something immediately for him. I felt this motherly instinct to protect and love him with all of me. When arriving home, I immediately informed Carrick of what I wanted. He was skeptical at first. The lawyer in him telling him it was a bad idea to adopt this boy who could possibly amount to nothing but one day when he visited me in the hospital and saw me with the boy, who I found out had the name Christian, he fell in love too. He saw the way I interacted with him. He and I knew what I had with him was what I had with Elliot when we adopted him a few years earlier.

After a month of waiting we were finally able to adopt him. Once we did, we immediately relocated to Seattle because my mother got sick and I had to take care of her. She's got better immediately but we fell in love with the city so we decided to stay there. Christian still didn't speak though. I knew Elliot was weirded out by it but knew not to push it. He only spoke once we brought home Mia, who was only a few months old at the time when we adopted her. Her parents dying of a car crash. He instantly connected with her. Her name at the time was Jenna but after Christian muttered Mia when he saw her, we applied for the name change immediately.

He was a difficult boy growing up if I'm to be honest. The fact is that he never talked for 2 years before Mia arrived. The fact that even after 17 years of being his mother, I've still hadn't had the chance to touch him intimately. No hugs, No embraces. Nothing. Only kisses on the cheek while holding onto his forearms. I admit, it breaks my heart not being to touch him. It pains me to not be able to fully let him physically feel the love his family have for him. I understand it's because of his past. Due to the fact that he was abused as a kid, never knowing whether something bad was going to happen to him, he completely shut himself out. Never letting anyone in. Not even his family.

As a child he would always play around with Elliot and go bond with his dad but it stopped when he hit puberty. As a teenager he was certainly troublesome. He was constantly getting in fights in school. He got suspended so much and even expelled. Not even my family's influence could save him from punishment. He also started drinking. We didn't really see, but we knew. Carrick could just smell liquor coming off of him and he got told off a lot but he was a crafty kid. He always knows how to get what he wants. One day though it all stopped. He stopped drinking, stopped all the fights and fixed himself. He started focusing on school and got great grades. He would even help Elliot with his Math. Although at the same time, he became even more closed off. When he was a child, he was closed off but he would still act like a child. Play and have fun. Although he did better, I felt hurt that he wouldn't be as close to us as he was before. He would no longer play with Elliot nor just casually talk with his dad. Even with Mia he was less affectionate. At least he has become successful. I'd like to think Carrick and I were the reason for him getting himself sorted out when he was a teen by threatening him the thought of military school but I just have a feeling it wasn't the reason. I wonder what caused him to change.

Despite all his accomplishments, I can't help but feel like I've failed him. Both me and Carrick despite giving him all his basic needs: food, water, shelter, clothes, we feel like we have failed to give him what he needs, Love and intimacy. Don't get me wrong, we love him with all our hearts but I feel like he doesn't feel that. I think he thinks we only feel pity for him. I worry for him. The fact that he's so closed off, I fear that he will never find happiness.

We did everything to raise him, Elliot and Mia well. I made sure they were all polite and well mannered. I taught them how to behave at social events and how to properly act towards people, which was hard for Christian considering he's so closed off but he eventually learned. I made sure they were cultured and classy. I taught Mia all about dresses, and it seems she's really grown into a full blown fashionista now. Carrick meanwhile taught the boys about suits and ties, slacks and all other things about male clothing. I also had a mantra for all my children: Foreign Language, Musical instrument and Martial Art. Although Mia refused on the Martial arts, stating that would break her nails.

He has all the tools to be successful. He has a loving and supportive family, although I'm not sure if he realizes that to be honest. He has time on his side, being only 21. He's smart, having just graduated top of his class here at Harvard. He's good looking. Breathtaking even. My son has no shortage of admirers from the girls here in Harvard, who I saw were giving him looks while he was talking with us and giving his speech, to at home in Seattle. The daughters of the girls in my social circle all having crushes on him. He is also incredibly good at pretty much everything he does. He's athletic, driven, passionate yet composed and is just overall a brilliant young man yet I just know he is living an empty life. I know he's only 21 and has his whole life ahead of him but I don't feel like he's 21. He acts like a 51 year old man with his formality and seriousness.

It saddens me that despite all I have given him, it still isn't enough to help me overcome whatever demons and problems he must be facing. I hope he finds something or someone to finally help him be the best he can be. Free from the restrictions binding him down.

As I just lie here in the bed of the hotel room Carrick and I are staying in, I reflect on the speech my son gave a while ago. He was very much in his element. He looked smart and gave his speech in a perfect manner displaying confidence without stuttering once. He's a born leader and I just know he'll be leading the line of his own company one day. A reason being I don't see Christian taking orders from anyone else. He's too stubborn for that. The only people I've seen him take orders from are Carrick and I…and Elena for some reason. I wonder why he seems to take orders from her. They must have become close when we made him do some volunteer work at her house all those summers ago. Which reminds me I must visit her in the hospital again next week. Oh my poor best friend. She's still in a coma after that brutal beating she got. No one knows the details as to who and why. I heard that she apparently got beaten up then robbed when walking down a shady alley during a cold night. I heard it though from Christian of all places which he says he overheard Mr. Lincoln saying. I wonder if Patrick feels sad. I mean I know he and his wife weren't on the best terms but they were still married.

Anyway back to Christian. I'm so happy he thinks highly of his family. It would have devastated me if he said that he felt his family had never done anything for him. I'm happy as well that he mentioned Elliot. I know they aren't close now but they were close when they were both children. I'm equally proud of the fact that he wants to help the world. I saw what he looked like as a child. It makes me proud that my son would want nothing more than to eradicate world hunger and abuse and he will do it wholeheartedly.

When he finally finished his speech, the whole crowd erupted. They were all in awe of my son. In awe of the amazing person he is, which he unfortunately doesn't see. When it was time for the students to get their diplomas, Carrick and I rushed to the stage. Being parents of the summa cum laude, we got to be present by his side when he received his medal and diploma. After stopping for pictures, we made our way back and waited for the whole event to finish. When it did, we made our way to him and offered him our congratulations.

Another good thing that happened today is that we met Mr. Gates who is the world's richest man after creating something that lets you use your computer, Macrohard or something. He certainly seems in awe of Christian. I know he mustn't have expected someone so mature when he is just 21. I can tell he will probably do future business with my son. Carrick certainly seems pleased that his son knows and has admirer of his in Bill Gates. Leave it to Carrick to bring his lawyer persona with him everywhere. Anyway Mr. Gates or Bill as he tells us to call him, tells us that when he's in Seattle we must have lunch. I think it's a great idea as maybe he would bring his wife Melinda. After all having Mrs. Gates in my social circle would certainly help my organizations.

After that Carrick and I headed back to our hotel after informing them of their plans for dinner. After all that has happened I am proud to call him my son. Despite his hardships, I am so glad he some came into our lives. I didn't even realize I shed a tear as Carrick wiped it off my cheek with his thumb.

"What's wrong darling?" he asks.

"Oh nothing. It's just seeing Christian today, being successful after all he's been through, it makes my heart swell." I say while smiling. He just looks at me with nothing but adoration in his eyes. I know he's immensely proud of our son too.

"Thank you Cary" I say

"For what?" he says while looking confused.

"For giving Christian a chance. I know you were skeptical at first when you saw him but thank you for believing in him and in me."

"Oh Grace when I saw you with him, I saw that there was this connection and that made me cast aside any doubts and made me want him immediately. Now enough with the waterworks. How about you come now and show me your thanks in a different manner." He says to me while winking suggestively. _Oh Yes!_

"Yes. I think I need to stake my claim on you. I saw how one of the parents beside us a while ago was looking at you far too long than what deemed appropriate." And with that I pounce on him. Hard.

/

After our late afternoon tryst we headed towards the restaurant with Elliot and Mia. On the way Mia was telling us about the fact that she went to find all of the 'hip' places in Harvard while Elliot wandered around checking out the architecture.

Once we arrived at the restaurant we were seated right next to quite a large crowd of people. The people next to us all looked cozy together though. When we sat down Elliot immediately began flirting with this one girl. Oh boy not another one. I love Elliot with all my heart but sometimes I wish he would just not be so reckless. I guess he's just in that period in his life where he sews his wild oats but I wish he would settle down a bit. I'm afraid one of these days a young woman will come up to him an tell him he's the father of her child after one night stand and I doubt he'd be ready to become a father at 24 years old.

My attention is drawn away from him though when I suddenly see Christian enter the restaurant with a girl following closely behind him. This is surprising. I've never seen Christian with anyone before.

"Well fuck me. Christian just got laid" Elliot says suddenly, also looking at Christian.

"Elliot watch your language! The people beside us might hear you." I whisper the last part to him. I swear the boys keep swearing so much that I'm afraid I might have to cut their tongues off sooner or later. I did not raise them to swear like that.

"Sorry mom but I'm a guy and trust me, Christian just got laid and by the looks of it with that girl he's with no less." He says with a significantly lower voice before looking with at his brother showing him a large grin. Christian meanwhile does not look amused with his brother. Wait if he said that Christian was intimate with her then that means he's not gay! I always thought he was gay. Not that he was effeminate or anything but it's just seemed like he never interested with any woman before and whenever Elliot would try to suggest things to him, he would just brush it off and trust me women would always be throwing themselves at him. My boy is after all very handsome. That also would mean he isn't celibate. I look to my right and see that Carrick himself is also surprised.

"How can you be sure Elliot?" I ask him.

"I'm a guy mom. I know these things. You're surprised too right? I know you guys thought he was gay too. Well trust me. He's not." He says. I'm about to reply but then Christian reaches me and kisses my cheek.

"Mother" he says before turning to kiss Mia on the cheek too and then shaking hands with his father. The girl Christian was with finally reaches him and then she goes around the other table and kisses the cheeks of 2 people who turn out to be her parents. All of the eyes around us and the adjacent table then look to the both of them.

"Now Christian who is this lovely lady?" Carrick is the first to speak up.

"This is my friend Madeline Myers. Madeline this is my mother Grace, my father Carrick, my sister Mia and my brother Elliot." He hastily makes introductions to Madeline while Madeline does the same to all the remaining members of the table. There are a lot. My table only has 5 family members while their tables have 17 people there considering there are 5 different families!

Christian finally sits down, but not before pulling the chair out for Madeline. Ah yes there's the gentleman I raised. My family then finally begins to order. We all decide to just order the specialty for the night. When the waitress comes over to get our order, she like most of the females who are suddenly around Christian, of course gets flustered and starts to blush. Christian just looks annoyed while Elliot looks at his brother again with a cheeky sort of grin.

"Hey bro, aren't you going to at least acknowledge that waitress. Look at her, she's all hot and bothered with you." Elliot says to Christian. I look over and yes she does seem to have been bothered by his presence.

"Fuck off Elliot" Christian says back to his brother.

"Christian! Watch your language! And Elliot's right. At least acknowledge the girl. I raised gentlemen didn't I?" I try and make him feel guilty which surprisingly works.

"Yes mother. Sorry." He says and with that, the conversation starts to flow around the dinner tables nicely.

"So Christian where did you and our Maddie meet?" Jeanie, Madeline's mother asks.

"We were classmates during our general education classes when we were both just starting out here at Harvard. We never really saw each other after that until a while ago when we randomly ran into each other and decided to catch up." He says. Yeah caught up.

"So what was Christian like at Harvard? I'm curious as to what my brother had been up to these past 4 years without us knowing." Elliot speaks up leaving Christian quite irritated with his brother but that's Elliot, always pushing his brother's buttons.

"Well he was undeniably smart. We all know that. In class he pretty much knew every answer to the questions the teachers would ask him." Madeline replies.

"What about how he acted? Anything out of the ordinary?" Elliot asks again trying to push Christian's buttons. Christian looks annoyed but knows better than to make a scene.

"Well he was aloof. He acted sorted of loose and laidback compared to the rest of the students but calm and composed as well. He was all of that despite the amount of attention he got…"

"What kind of attention?" Elliot persists much to his brother's annoyance.

"Oh you know. The fact that he was a brilliant student and rower brought gave him a lot of praise."

"Not to mention all the girls basically pining for him." One girl says. Nikki If I'm not mistaken.

"Oh please do elaborate." Elliot tells Nikki.

"Well, girls would constantly flirt with him and try to get his attention which of course he gave none of. They also made a fan club dedicated for him. He also got in the Crimson, Harvard's newspaper a lot not only for his achievements but for the fact that the ladies were obsessed with him. Heck there was even this event like what happened on the movie 'The Social Network'. You know where all the men had to vote online who was the hottest girl? Well that happened again 6 months ago only now it was the girls turn to vote for the guys and guess who won? That's right him! He was then dubbed as Harvard's most eligible bachelor after his win. All the Harvard related blogs blew up regarding news about him." She says.

"All right how about we talk about something else." Christian says definitely having enough of this conversation. He shoots a glare a Nikki which makes her squirm while Elliot is trying to control his laughter. _Oh he is not going to live this one down is he?_

Luckily for Christian the waitress arrives and brings us our food. Christian though having learned his lesson, thanks her and gives her a breath taking smile and I swear I hear the girl swoon. I saw Christian roll his eyes while Elliot again was trying not to laugh. _Oh what am I going to do with my boys? _As we eat the conversation shifts from politics to the environment and up to the current state of affairs in other countries. I can deduce that Madeline and the 4 ladies she is with are all brilliant young women. Their families are all wealthy and they all seem cultured and refined so I can definitely see socializing with them at times if we should ever cross paths again. I find out the Madeline though graduated top of her class like Christian and that she participated in many co-curricular activities during her stay. Her mother is also the founder of AWM. Of course how could I not have noticed it before? Adrienne W. Myers. I have some of the famous purses she designs. And with that all the ladies all start to talk about fashion.

We all continue eating until one of the girls then stands up to go to the bathroom. Naturally, Christian stands along with Carrick. Elliot however is a bit slow in getting up. He's too busy chomping down on his food. Surprisingly enough the men on the other tables don't stand up.

Christian then goes to the bathroom too. Once he's gone, Jeanie asks me where we live.

"Oh we leave in Seattle. Bellevue to be exact though Elliot has his own apartment close to his work." I answer.

"Oh wow you live closer to us than I thought. We live in Portland while these girls all live in California and New York. Our Maddie here though is having her internship in Seattle in the new division of the company my husband works in."

"Oh how wonderful. Maybe we could all catch up sometime then." I say to her.

"Oh yes that sound wonderful. Although not anytime soon though. Maddie and her friends are going to be vacationing for a while."

"Oh how nice." Before I can continue Christian arrives back and tells me he has to leave as he forgot he had this other engagement to be at.

"Where are you going Christian?" Mia asks.

"I have this end of the school year event I have to attend to. The members of the rowing team will be there along with some other notable people. I would normally want to skip that event but like dad said, it's a great place to network and I can never have too many connections." He says while Carrick nods in agreement.

"Okay well good luck son. See you in the morning. Remember, our flight leaves at 10 am. We all meet at the lobby of the hotel." I say to him.

"Drinks after bro?" Elliot asks hopefully.

"I'll let you know. Goodbye everyone. Pleasure to meet you all." And after exchanging pleasantries all of us on the table, he leaves.

"Well I think it's time we left too Grace. I'm beat." Carrick says.

"Me too. I need to update my blog! Who knows what has happened to my friends!" Mia states dramatically.

"Well I'm gonna go wander around some more." Elliot says.

And with that we all we all exchange our goodbyes to all the people in the table and make plans to have lunch or dinner sometimes if any of them were ever in Seattle.

As Carrick, Mia and I walk back to the hotel I speak up.

"That was a lovely dinner wasn't it?"

"Yes. They all seem like lovely people." Carrick responds.

"Mom if the Myers are ever in Seattle, do you think we could ask them for some AWM originals? I just love them! And I can't believe I met Adrienne Myers herself!" Mia says to me. Ah yes she certainly is a sparkplug. And she loves her fashion along with all her friends. I wonder if she would want to be a designer.

"Now Mia I can't just ask them for that." I reply.

"I know mom. They certainly seemed lovely. Especially that girl Madeline. I still can't believe Christian has a friend!"

I can't believe it either. My son is just so closed off. What did Madeline do to be able to become his friend? If what Elliot said is true and that they were intimate, I wonder if there's something there. I mean she certainly is pretty enough. And she's smart and comes from a good family. I wonder if there could be something more for my son.

**Madeline's POV:**

Christian just left. Huh. I wonder why I didn't get invited to that get together he's going too. Too bad we weren't able to talk some more. I can't believe my last words to him were 'see ya Christian'. _Fuck! That sure wasn't memorable if that was the last time I was going to see him in a while._ A good thing about tonight is that I found out that their family lived in Seattle, just where I'm going to have my internship. After all the company my daddy works in just opened a new division over there and since he's the head of the engineering department, he has to visit there occasionally and being the daughter of the head, I was able to get an internship there. Maybe I could surprise him sometimes. Of course I have my own pride and I will not resort to begging. I'll let him come to me and act all subtle. I know he only sees me as a friend but if he ever needs me I'll make sure I'll be there. And once I'm there, he'll probably realize that he has feelings for me too. Yes! And add that to the fact that he probably doesn't know I live in Portland or am having my internship in Seattle and that just works in my favor more. Luckily he was in the bathroom when that conversation happened.

Anyway after he leaves, the rest of his family leaves as well promising a reunion if we're ever near each other. Yes I would like that very much. They all are lovely people, although Christian's brother does wink at Heather before he turns to leave. _Uhh what a flirt._ I look at Heather who seems unaffected by him. Good. Nothing good ever comes out of dating a player and trust me I can tell he was one. And Heather was not the one night stand type of girl. She was more of like the type of girl who would wait until marriage to lose her virginity but she's still fun. Elliot was funny though. I'll give him that.

"They seemed like lovely people" Jade's mom says.

"I know. They were so genuine." Jade replies.

"They were all good looking" Heather's mom says.

"Especially Christian." Nikki says and all the girls simultaneously giggle. Yes we all know he's the epitome of male beauty.

"Maddie, is Christian single?" my mom says. What are weird question.

"Yes mother, as far as I know." I reply.

"I'd think he'd be good for you." She says then smiles at me. I think so too.

"Yeah but he's not interested in me. Or anyone for that matter. Never had a girlfriend on campus as far as I know."

"What? Is he gay?" Heather's mother asks.

"No, just too busy according to him." I reply.

"Oh Maddie, you know men. They just need that extra push, or the right woman to steer them along." I'll say.

"And you think I'm the right woman?" I say asking for reassurance.

"I think so. If anyone could keep with him it's you. You're both smart and talented. Plus I think you look good together." She says then giggles. "He is quite the catch." She says. Oh you have no idea.

"I know. Isn't he a dish?" Maya says.

"Yes. He's so unbelievably handsome." Maya's mom replies.

"And so chivalrous too! The way he pulled out Maddie's chair here and he way he stood up when Heather here was going to the bathroom and returning from there. Such manners and etiquette I haven't seen since my time. So different to all other men." My mom says. Subtly hinting at the 3 men in our tables who seem to not have noticed as their all too busy talking amongst themselves.

"Unbelievably handsome? Check. Good family? Check. Smart? Check. Manners? Check. Charming? Check. He's got it all. Well almost. Now all he needs is the love of a good woman." Jade says. Love? Can I give that to him? I know I can give him affection and most of his desires but love? Does Christian even believe in love? Well I guess I could try. I mean I never really felt that way towards anyone before and I do want him so…Anyway like I said I'll take him anyway I can.

The waitress then comes and grabs our empty plates. She looks disappointed though that Christian has left. I'm pretty annoyed with her though. I cannot believe she actually swooned when Christian smiled at her. I guess I couldn't blame her, I probably would too if he smiled at me like that along with giving me a compliment but hey it wasn't me so now I'm annoyed.

"Well I think the girls and I will head off. We got a few places to go to before we officially leave." I say and with that we all say our good byes and leave. Once we get out of the restaurant I am immediately bombarded with questions.

"Come on Maddie. We want details! We know you guys did it. I could sense it. Your hair was a bit messier than usual and I can just tell you were both less tense somehow." Nikki persists.

"Calm down girls. I'll tell all later when we drink but now let's go to where we need to be. And with that we all head to our sorority house for one last goodbye. I'll miss this. At least I'll have some connections if I ever need them. After that we go to the Chemistry club for same reasons. Reluctantly, I relinquish my presidency to Andrew Miller who seems equipped enough for the job. After a proper farewell, we then went out and just explored and roamed around the grounds one last time. We reminisced over what happened at certain places over certain people. Enjoyed the views and the sounds.

After walking for almost an hour we stop by this large tent on the grounds and we see that it seems to be an event or something. In the corner of my eye I see him. Christian in all his glory talking to a woman I do not recognize. Jealousy and rage suddenly flow through me as I see this woman's brazen flirting with him. She's subtly touching his hand and his arm but I can read at least he does look uncomfortable, though he doesn't show it to the woman.

After we see that he doesn't talk to the woman for long and he begins conversation with a new gentleman, we turn to leave and head for the nearest bar. Once we arrive there we immediately order our drinks, sit down in a corner and talk.

"Alright Maddie spill." Jade gets to the point.

"Yes we did it. Yes it was wonderful. He made my body sing to the heavens with his prowess." I reply before taking a drink.

"He just jumped your bones right then and there when you went to him? Maya asks.

"Nope. He was being difficult to say the least. We were just talking and I couldn't get to him. I was just about to leave when I accidentally hit his table and some papers of his fell to the floor. I bent over to pick them up when he suddenly appeared behind me and grabbed my ass!"

"He grabbed your ass?" Jade asks.

"Yes" I reply.

"You lucky bitch. I'd let him grab my ass any day." Nikki says. Yeah. Me too.

"Anyway after that he told me he knew I was trying to seduce him and I should have just gotten straight to the point with him so he locked the door and took me to his bedroom where he took real good care of me. Luckily he was sort of tense before so when I presented myself, he had no choice but to give in."

"Wow. So did you realize you like him?" Heather asks.

"Yeah. I think I answered it already at the dinner table when he and his family left."

"How did he react? Must have been good considering you were walking back together." Nikki says.

"I didn't tell him. I don't wanna just tell him that all of a sudden. I had just gotten to be his friend. I think it would freak him out if I suddenly told him I wanted him too. I'll take him anyway I can for now. And if he's ever down, I'll be there and he'll see things."

"Sounds good." Jade says.

"Now enough about me. You must tell me now Jade did you really have a cameo in NCIS?" and with that the conversation moves to numerous topics between us. We share the good memories and bask in our success. After a while I notice the room to be spinning a bit. Is there an earthquake?

"Guys is the room spinning or is it just me?" I ask them all

"It's just you Maddie. You've had a bit too much to drink." Heather says.

"Oh Ok. Let's dance anyway" I say and with that we're all at the dance floor. We dance to the beat and just flat out have fun. All 5 of us single and just out on the floor letting our worries fade away. After a while, even in all my drunk stupor though I notice something wrong though. I sense that there's someone dancing behind me. Someone's hands suddenly touch my hips and move to my ass which they grab. And the only person I would allow to do that to me is Christian. I snap out of the person's hold and turn around. It's a drunk frat boy wearing a stupid baseball cap and shades. Who the fuck wears shades at night?

"Watch it!" I say

"Come on baby cakes. I was just having some fun." He says.

"Well sorry but I'm not having any fun" I say before rushing back to my seat but before I can get there drunk guy is at it again and grabs my arm, turns me around and forcefully kisses me. _What the fuck!_

"Let go!" I squeal but he continues to force himself onto me. I manage to push him off but he lunges at me again. Suddenly, someone comes and turns him around.

It's Christian.

He punches him so hard he falls flat on the floor unconscious. Luckily we were at the back so not a lot of people noticed. He picks him up, pulls his hoodie up on him and sits him on the chair with his head lying on his hands on the table as if he was just sleeping. Genius!

After he leaves him like that he checks on me. Yes! "Are you alright?"

I manage to blurt out a yes but I can't speak well enough due to my intoxication.

"I'm taking you back to your place. Say goodbye to your friends." He says in such a domineering way. What a turn on! I guess I won't complain though. I need to rest.

Christian manages to drag to through the sea of people back to my friends by holding my hand. _Oh it feels so warm. _When he reaches my table, all my friends are shocked but Jade speaks up first.

"Maddie I saw what happened. I am so sorry. I just went to the bathroom with Nikki while Maya got drinks and Heather was too far away to see you. I didn't notice you danced all the way to the other end of the bar and with that jerk."

"Yeah well that asshole basically dragged her there but she was lucky I was there to stop him." Christian speaks up.

"Thank you Christian. What were you doing here by the way?" Jade says.

"I was with my brother. I'm just gonna tell him I'm leaving then I'm taking Madeline here back to her hotel." He says before leaving to his brother.

"Holy shit Maddie you were lucky Christian was here to save your ass." Maya says.

"I know. Thank God. I don't know what that guy would have done but it probably wouldn't have been honorable." It makes me sick just thinking if what could have happened but I realize I feel sick due to the amount of booze I took.

"Uhh I feel sick" I say and just as I said that Christian arrives and basically drags me out after saying goodbye to my friends.

He starts walking and walking and I'm just here being dragged by him. A girl could get used to this. _Wait what am I thinking? Let him come to you idiot! _He stops somewhere first but then starts walking again. After a while I barely notice that we've actually arrived at my parent's hotel room._ What? How did he know? Is he some sort of stalker?_

"How did you know where I stayed?" I ask him.

"You're parents mentioned it during dinner." He replies. Oh right how could I forget?

"Sorry." I mutter weakly. He then knocks on the door twice before my mother answers it shocked to see my state with Christian.

"Christian. Madeline. What's going on?" my mother asks.

"Good evening Mrs. Meyers. Sorry to disturb you like this but Madeline here as you can see had too much to drink and was almost taken advantage of by some hooligan but luckily I was there to stop it. I then brought her here as it would have been bad on my part to just leave her there in her current state of intoxication." Christian says to my mother.

"Oh Maddie how could you have let yourself get this drunk? Thank you Christian for taking her in. I don't know how we could ever repay you."

"No problem Mrs. Meyers. Just did what my mother raised me to do and take care of my friends." He replies. Oh yes we really are friends!

"Well before I go, here are some Advil I picked up on the way home. I trust you'll give them to her." He adds.

"Oh yes! Thank you again Christian." My mother gushes. He turns to leave but I stop him and kiss his cheek before he leaves. He looks shocked before composing himself then leaves leaving me in my hotel room with my mother.

"Now Madeline I expect better from you. You're lucky your father is asleep or else you would hear an earful. Now get to bed, drink this Advil and go to sleep. You're lucky Christian was there. Think of what could have happened to you!" She says while dragging me to my bed and leaving the Advil on my table with a glass and a pitcher full of water.

I manage to gulp down about ¾ of the water in the pitcher and then lie down on the bed. I contemplate what happened today. I realized I had affection for Christian. We fucked hard. We had dinner. I realized I live nearer to him than I thought. I had more opportunities with him and passively pursuing him was indeed feasible. I also realized how lucky I was that Christian was there. He always takes care of me. The way he cared for me after sex, the wiping and tucking in. The way he took care of me tonight. It makes me see he really is a beautiful person, inside and out. He could have just left me, but instead he helped me. I thought before if I could possibly love him and give him what I think he deserves. Well no need to think because I think I can give him that. And with that I fall asleep thinking about the way my lips were on his cheek. Oh his skin is so flawless.

/

I wake up and fuck I have this horrible headache. Fuck! I knew I shouldn't have drank too much. I then remember the way Christian took care of me. Yes how I loved what he did. I take up the Advil and I go outside of my room and see my mother packing up some of her stuff.

"What time is it?" I ask.

Its 11 am honey. Almost time for lunch." She replies.

"Did Christian ever come back?" I ask meekly.

"No honey. It is 11 am. They probably left already." She replies.

Oh right their flight was scheduled for 10 am. Why didn't he get back to me then? Does he not care for me? Anyway I guess I'll just have to see him in Seattle but not after a few months of course. I have to de-stress and relax with my girls in the Caribbean first. Oh I can't wait! Get ready world!

**Christian's POV**

What a day I had yesterday. First I had the graduation ceremony. Yep I finally graduated. 4 years wasted in that hellhole but hey at least I made my parents proud. And now surely they will lend me some money for my business. I also got to meet Bill Gates. Have to admit the fucker is actually pretty nice.

After that I did not expect to run into Madeline Meyers. Much less fuck her but hey, she was basically offering herself to me, she was hot, I was so tense and she understood my limits meaning she knew I didn't liked to be touched. She was the only girl who fully accepted it. That's why she's the only one I've slept with more than once. She's actually not all that bad. She kept asking to be my friend and I eventually relented. Why not? I could probably use her connections in the future. She's also not that half bad. She's pretty smart and engaging. Most of all she gets me and I appreciate that she doesn't go out of her way to know me. She just understands and does nothing about it respecting my boundaries. Thankfully I'm not too fucked up to have friendships or at least sort of friendly relationships.

Anyway I was shocked during dinner to say the least. The fucking Crimson. Don't they have anything better than to just write about me all the time? And the worst part was that Elliot was there to hear everything. Now I know he'll never let this go.

After dinner I had to go to this function so I could network a bit. When I entered I was of course talked to immediately. They do not see Christian Grey often at these sort of events. Worst part was when one of the members of the rowing team called my name out.

"Hey Grey! What are you doing here? Thought this wasn't your scene. Anyway saw you a while ago with a hot piece of ass. Didn't know you had it in you." He says. Ah yes another gay reference. Although some people knew better, knowing I had slept with some girls here in Harvard, most of them were still oblivious. _If they only knew_. I just smirked back at him and continued chatting some people up. Tedious I know but hey I'll probably use these fuckers in the future so why not get to know them a bit and know what makes them tick. It would have been bearable if not for the women constantly trying to flirt with me. I get that I could potentially use them as well but they were too bold. This one woman kept touching my arm it was a miracle I didn't just flip her off right then and there. After mingling a bit more I couldn't take it anymore and called Elliot up for some drinks. God knows I needed it.

I arrived at the bar seeing Elliot chatting up the blonde bartender. Of course he was. I sat with him and drank a couple of beers with him. It was nice just 'hanging' with him. It was as normal as someone so messed up as me could act. We just talked about my campus life and how he did now. Apparently he's doing well. He's thinking about starting his own construction business in a year but he needs to earn a bit more capital he says. I would gladly lend him money once I become rich and trust me I will. He's always been there. Never judged me once, just accepted me and loved me even if I don't deserve his love. God I wished I deserved my family.

My thoughts were interrupted when at the corner of my eye I say Madeline being kissed and groped seemingly unwelcomingly by some guy in a hoodie. Normally I would have stayed out of it because it was none of my business but I couldn't just let this guy take advantage of my friend could I? So I went over there and confronted the guy, knocked him out then took her back to her hotel. God she was a drunken mess. I must remember to never allow my future submissives to get drunk especially before my sessions with them.

After I took her to her place, I got to my own room and just slid into bed and pondered. How was I going to get a submissive? I know I know I couldn't just go to the clubs. That would be bad for my reputation. Elena was supposed to do this for me but she's still in a fucking coma I guess I never really thought about it. Would I come back to her after what she did to me? I don't think so.

Also how in the world would I become a dom. Again after I left Elena all the training I did was in the clubs near Harvard but that was nowhere enough I think for me to become a Dom. I wonder who could train me. It's not like I can just give up the lifestyle right? I mean I guess I can but I won't. I need the control. Plus there isn't any incentive for me to leave the lifestyle other than the fact that my business will probably take up all my time when I first start it. Yes I plan to become as successful as possible and work and day and night to achieve that.

"So bro who is she?" Elliot says breaking me out of my thoughts. We're currently on the way home to Seattle in the plane. Thank God we're flying first class. I could not take all the screaming kids and fantasizing women I saw a while ago in the economy class. I must make sure to buy my own jet once I become rich. I will never ride on economy again but I'll probably have to during my first few months of my job. Fuck!

"What?" I ask getting distracted again.

"What's up with you Christian? Getting all distracted. Oh wait don't tell me. It's a girl right? You're thinking about a girl right now." He says looking at me with a shit eating grin. Nice try.

"No Elliot. I'm thinking about what my business is gonna look like." I reply.

"Yeah well anyway I said what's up with you and that Madeline chick. You two seeing each other?" he asks. Wherein the world did he get that idea?

"No. we're just friends. Why do you ask?"

"Well I could see you got laid when you first entered the restaurant. I could see you less tense and I could just sense that you had sex and I'm assuming it was with that Madeline chick you were with because she seemed to exude those too. Don't try to deny it bro." He says.

I just look at him without saying anything. He interprets my silence as confirmation to his question though.

"Ha! I knew it. She was just a fuck. I didn't know you had it in you. I knew you were never gay when I you started borrowing my porn collection but I always thought you were celibate."

I just stay quiet and shake my head at him with a smirk on my face. Thank God our parents and Mia are all up front and can't hear us. I do not want to talk about my sex life with them. I laugh at the fact he thought I was celibate. If you only knew brother. If you only knew.

Now that I'm done with Harvard, it's time to start building my empire but not before Elliot gets in the last word.

"Who would have thought you would were 'Harvard's most eligible bachelor'. What's next? Seattle?" he says. I better fucking not!


	4. Starting to Ascend

**Thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites. Here are some insights:**

**-To the guest reviewer, YES! Thank you for getting it. What Christian had with Madeline was purely sex. Although Madeline gained feelings for him, Christian did not. I know he may seem like an asshole for that but I guess he is then. You could also say he is "leading her on" but he doesn't see that. He just sees it as him being polite to her and just enjoying the sex she provides. After all, Christian has a lot of emotional growing up to do and has to face one of his biggest flaws, his lack of empathy which I think pretty much sums up why he does what he does.**

**- If you can infer from the first chapter of my story, you can see that Christian himself stopped his relationship with Elena when he was 18 and about to leave for Harvard. He managed to break free from Elena of his own accord at a younger age. Couple that with the fact that he is only 21 and hasn't started his business and has never had any contractual agreements with women. He has never had any submissives but he has been to some BDSM clubs. Meaning, he isn't that fucked up or corrupted compared to the actual FSOG. He is probably as close to normal as any FSOG fan fic there is I think. Thus the OOC heading I gave in the summary of this story. And as to the fact that he was actually able to have vanilla sex with someone, let's just say he had a certain conversation with Elliot on how to have one (which I will eventually address).**

**- Now with regards to how Christian having vanilla sex with other than Ana will make their relationship seem less. I'm sorry. I'm no sex expert but doesn't vanilla mean just sex with no kinkiness? If my definition is correct then that means emotions aren't necessarily involved. I'm sorry if I made it seem that way or if I misinterpreted things. The sex he ever has had with all those women were just that. Sex with no emotion. Like I have referenced a lot lately, he was just sewing his wild oats. Of course with Ana being the leading lady, sex with her will have emotions, love and all the works.**

**- Sorry if you guys felt like Madeline was so important to Christian. She isn't really important. She's sorta like how Jose is for Ana. Friends with one sided affection who the other is to blind to see (although they had sex, he sees it just as that. Sex. And he is a bit colder to her compared to how Ana is to Jose. Just goes to show how clueless Christian is right?). She sorta has a role to play in the story. Now for the lemon, sorry that it looks like I really invested in it. It was my first time writing one and despite the consequences, I could not resist the temptation to write one. Of course I gained some insight on how to write lemons better. I'm pretty surprised I even thought of those. Not saying I'm a virgin or anything but let's just say the environment I'm in isn't the most liberal. In fact it's pretty conservative.**

**- Lastly I'm going to skip for the most part the business part of his life as I have little no clue what happens in businesses, much less in America where the laws and procedures are different. And sorry for the random POVs I'm going to throw here or there. I just love hearing what everyone is thinking about even if they're just background characters and may seem unnecessary **

**Christian's POV**

Ah yes. We're finally back in Seattle. Thank God I can start the new chapter in my life. I've been stuck in the Bahamas for the past 2 and a half months. I thought I was going home when I boarded the plane those 2 and a half months ago from Cambridge. Turns out they blindsided me and were taking me to the Bahamas for a 2 week stay. I immediately protested and got furious. _Don't they know I hate surprises? Don't they know I need control always? _I didn't have a choice though as I didn't have enough money for a plane ticket as the money I saved, about 50k, was in a small envelope in a small box with a secret compartment which I shipped to my parents Bellevue home before leaving Harvard and I know my parents would not allow me to go back home alone either. I told them I would be fine but they said without food, money or a place to stay I wouldn't survive. They didn't know of course about the money. I reluctantly decided to just try to relax there as Mia was relentless in trying to calm me down, along with the fact that my parents threatened to give me 50k less to start my business with if I caused trouble.

I sorta enjoyed my stay there. The weather was nice and the environment was breathtaking. The beaches were as white as can be and the seas were so clear. Seeing that just made me realize how beautiful the environment is. I know I've always been pro-environment but see those just made me want to make sure that all if not most of my projects would be environmentally safe.

I admit I was tempted to screw around during my stay there. Beaches meant bikini clad ladies and trust me there were tons of them. There were all types of women available. Tall, short, blonde, brunette, redhead, skinny, curvy, African American, white, European, all the lot. I personally have a type. I prefer brunettes. Height doesn't matter as long as they're shorter than me. I mean I am pretty tall at 6'1 and it would be just awkward if the woman you were banging were as tall as or taller than you. I also only go for white women. No offense to African Americans but I'm only attracted to fair skinned women…mostly because they remind me of my birth mother. My birth mother was a pretty woman, when she wasn't wasted or high. I only saw her looking neat a couple of times. When she did though, she was stunning. Now I'm not saying I had something like a crush on her or anything but I can only seem to be really attracted to girls that look like the crackwhore. I wonder why. Is this some sort of psychological thing where I transfer my supposed desire for intimacy and closeness with my mother (nonsexual of course) to the girls I've bedded? Maybe. Don't get me wrong I hate her or at least I think I do but I admit she was pretty on good days which were few.

Anyway I managed to avoid having sex though throughout my two months. I'm pretty proud of myself. There were ridiculously hot women around offering themselves to me. Some of them were even offering threesomes. I know my brother got laid a lot. Considering we had neighboring rooms, I could hear his moaning all the time. Jesus he is loud. I hope my parents didn't hear him. Wait scratch that, I wish they would hear him. That way they would have cancelled the vacation sooner and forced us back home. All I got were some blowjobs here and I ate some pussy there. Hey, I gotta retain some control over myself.

Anyway we were supposed to go home after 2 weeks but Elliot decided to show off his surfing skills or lack thereof. After all we lived in Seattle for all our lives except for a short stay in Detroit and neither of those places are exactly beach destinations. And even though he went to Stanford, it seemed like he never actually learned to surf despite being in California where beaches abound. Long story short, he tried to impress some ladies with his surfing and failed miserably as he totally misread the situation and wiped out, hitting his leg on a rock in the process thus breaking it. My father was furious to say the least. He went on and on about his immaturity and irresponsibility. Safe to say my brother won't be getting any favors from my dad anytime soon. Well due to him getting injured, we had to stay and let him heal before we left. My mother would not let us travel alone and when I questioned her about it, she gave me that look wherein she crossed her arms, raised her eyebrow at me and held her footing firmly down aka the 'Don't you dare mess with me' look. No matter what we would leave as a family. Elliot though didn't want to travel injured so we had to stay. Fucking Elliot.

Due to our extended stay, I busied myself with thinking of my business plan. Luckily the company I planned to buy a stake in hadn't sold any shares yet. I planned to buy this company which my dad informed me of called MTON. It's a company based in Seattle that provides the software and materials needed to create signal towers. It was owned by a Malky Makaton, a pudgy 56 year old man. Now that he died a few months ago, the company is now left in the hands of his wife Lora who not to be offensive or anything, is just a housewife who knows nothing about business. Fortunately for me, they have no children and now the wife has decided to want to sell it if the opportunity ever arises. Thankfully no one has seen the massive upside the company has, after all it is a fairly new company, only operating for over a year before he died. Malky was an accountant at some company before starting it up on his 55th birthday. I know all that company needs is a competent leader. No offense to Mr. Makaton, I know it's not nice to speak ill of the dead but he was a bit too much of a pushover according to their figures. He seems to have tolerated the output the company produced even though they could have done so much more. I'm guessing because he didn't really have much ambition. I mean he probably only had the company to provide a decent living for himself and his wife. That's where I swoop in. I know I have to make some changes but I know I can take it MTON to the next level. And with me taking it to greater heights, it would be the boost I need to break into the business world.

Of course Mia tried to persuade me to have go out and party like everyone else and act normal. That's the thing though, I'm not normal. I've tried to act as normal as possible all my life but have failed miserably. As a child I tried to act normal and play around with Elliot. I did okay I think but I was never able to join him with his friends. They were all roughhousing and touching each other. I could have never handled that. When I was in high school, I was an outcast. Didn't have any friends except for Elena. They would all be up in my business and try to figure me out but none of them could. High school was definitely a challenge. Girls from out of nowhere would always lunge at me and try to kiss me. I avoided them most of the time but some of them managed to succeed. I never kissed them back though. From there on some guys started some rumors that I was gay. I never did anything about it though. I thought that if they thought I was gay that the girls would back off but they actually became more aggressive. They said they didn't really believe that I was gay but just aloof and mysterious. Of course they loved that shit. They had me painted as this genius bad boy all the way to college. What is it about bad boys that make girls go crazy? Is it the chase? I heard it's because girls are apparently 'nurturing' by nature and want to be able to try and change the boy but there must be something more right?

College was much better though. Less rules and more freedom. People would bother me less but they were still there. The only extra-curricular activity I had was rowing. It just helped me relax. Dad said he always knew I would be a good rower as he always saw me moving around and pretend to row in the bath tub as a child. Anyway college was definitely a unique experience. After leaving Elena I managed to experience different women. It helped me hone my people skills, considering I had little to begin with. Mom always said I was a charmer and though I admit I do know how to bend and twist words to my advantage, I felt I was still lacking. I know now though that I can pretty much hold a conversation with the best of them. It's all about seizing the initiative thus controlling the tempo and flow of the conversation.

Mia says I'm a control freak and I guess I am. I do need control all the time. I need to be able to regain the control I lost as a child. I can never allow myself to be weak again. They say they understand my need for it but I don't think they do. They don't fully understand the depths of my depravity. Why can't they see that having control just makes things better? That way you can never be surprised and are always prepared. That way almost nothing bad can happen to you. Mia of course doesn't get it like the others.

Despite being annoying, I do love my sister if love is what you call it. I don't think I know what love is. Elena always said love was for fools. I'm pretty sure she meant romantic love by that but I'm not sure if she meant filial and sibling love as well. I know I care about Mia though. I would kill anyone that would hurt her. Thank God she isn't dating right now. She's only 16 anyway. She doesn't need any fuckers trying to get into her panties then leaving her high and dry. I must make sure she's safe until she's about 40. Yes that seems right. She should be emotionally ready then. She sure is lively. She keeps trying to get me to attend parties and to help me come out of my shell but to no avail. I just wish at times she would just give up trying to fix me. No one can fix me. I'm broken beyond repair.

Sometimes I wonder why I even exist. I was given such a terrible start in life and a not so better teenage life. I wonder if this is some sign by the universe to just give up. I wonder if this is universe saying that the atoms floating around in space just messed up when they joined together and formed me and now they're making sure I know it. Now they're doing everything to make my life miserable. I admit I might have considered suicide before. I just don't know what else to do. Why am I here? Was I created just to be a punching bag to others? Was I created to be someone to provide jobs to thousands of people in the future? Was I created just to be the crackwhore's pimp's ashtray and now that I'm older I've lost my purpose? If that was it then surely the universe could have just fused their atoms to make an ashtray instead of me. I know my parents are supposedly living for their children and for the people of Washington. Mia is said to be living for her family as well as her friends. Elliot is living for his family and for the business he plans to create in the future. Could I be the same? To live for my family and for my business? Only time will tell. I hate waiting and to have no control over time is a major pain.

Anyway as I step on the floor of SeaTac, I know now what I have to do. I need to start my business, become insanely rich, provide jobs for thousands, preserve the environment, give my family all their heart's desire then die peacefully. Sounds reasonable right? Nothing missing? Good.

/

We're finally back at Elliot's apartment. He's gonna let me stay here until I find my own apartment. He offered to let me stay here as long as I want but that's not gonna happen. First I need my privacy. I can't bring subs back to Elliot's apartment. I would be a bad guest by doing that and no one can ever find out about my lifestyle. Knowing Elliot, he would also pretty much be bringing girls home all the time and I do not need to hear him or the girl he's with moaning all the time. I also don't need to see the girl do the walk of shame or try to talk to me when they're around. Another reason is that Elliot's apartment is quite small for my tastes. I want to be able to put a piano in my apartment. My mom made me take piano lessons when I was younger and I'm glad I took it seriously. Playing just helps me to relax and clear my head. It helps me release any tension I may have and it helped me release my emotions. For as much as I love control, I need to be able to express myself once in a while. I love playing but I hate it when someone else listens in. I've only played for my family although I've been forced to play in public at times. Like when I was in high school and I was made to join the school play, hey I needed the extra credit for Harvard. I would also play sometimes at my mom's events at home. Sometimes I would play alone and sometimes Mia would play the cello with me while Elliot would play the guitar and we would all play together. My mom loved that. I would do anything for my mom. She deserves only the best.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It's been 3 months since the day I landed in SeaTac from the Bahamas. A lot has happened since then. After Elliot and I finished unpacking stuff in his apartment when we first arrived, he drove us to our parent's Bellevue home or 'Grey Manor' as Elliot calls it. The name is fitting though. It's a pretty big house and I remember Elliot would always throw crazy parties there when my parents would go away. I in the meantime would just stay in my room and wait for the people to leave. Elliot though was always ratted out by the housekeepers we had. It was hilarious watching him getting in trouble all the time. Once we finally got there, we talked a bit while I explained to dad my business plan. Thankfully he whole heartedly agreed with my plans and he told me they had already put 200k in my bank account. Now that was surprising as they originally said only 100k but since I did so well at Harvard, they agreed to add another 100k. Thank God I didn't flunk out. Surprisingly my package that I sent home still hadn't arrived.

After going to their house, I accompanied my mom to the hospital to visit Elena. I've been visiting her about every 2 weeks. My work has just been too busy. I would visit her more often if not for the terrible way we ended things. She definitely looks better but she still doesn't look like waking up anytime soon. I need her to wake up to ask if she has any incriminating pictures with her. I mean the only people who probably know of Elena's activities are her, her current submissive who I still don't know who is, her housekeeper and Linc, her ex-husband. I can't ask Linc as he doesn't even know I had something with Elena. I've tried talking to her housekeeper but she refuses to talk to me. I even offered her cash but she still refused. Man she's loyal or maybe Elena has something on her too. I wonder if I can find out…

Anyway business is doing great. I bought MTON the same week we arrived back home. It was pretty easy buying it off Mrs. Makaton. Apparently she had been waiting for someone to buy for a while now. I unfortunately didn't have enough to completely buy it off her but I used most of the money I had to buy a significant controlling interest in the company. Thankfully she sold it to me very cheaply as she just wanted it gone. Anyway after 2 months of good revenue I've finally paid her off fully and now own 100% of MTON or GreyCT as I've rebranded it. Simple name but I like it.

After 3 months, I feel like the company is ready to expand. When I first walked in I immediately knew what needed to be done. I met the heads of the different departments and expressed my concerns. They were all surprised I was their new boss. After all I am only 21. I know they were content with the current rate they were going at but I wasn't. I showed them what I wanted to do and what I wanted to happen and told them that if I don't get them they can kiss their sorry asses goodbye. After that I met with them one by one and saw that they were all mostly competent enough but not at my level. They would normally be good enough at some small company but they weren't going to be good enough for what I have planned. So after my company expands and once I can get better staff, they're going to either to be demoted or given the boot. The only person I was really impressed with was a director named Ros Bailey. A 28 year old red head who after talking to, I found out was brilliant. She was the only one who was able to keep up with me and actually challenge me on some points. I admire her spunkiness and now she is the only one allowed to talk to me freely and the only one allowed to call me Christian. I'm surprised she was working for MTON in the first place when she really could have been working at somewhere bigger and better. Apparently though she's close to the Makatons and decided to help them out in return for them helping her out when she was younger and in need. I admire that in her. That's why I made her my second in command. I also liked the fact that she's a lesbian. She's probably the only woman in the building who hasn't tried to flirt with me, thinking that they could sleep their way to the top. Don't they know you should never mix business with pleasure?

I reluctantly met with PR and told them to make sure to keep me out of the news as much as possible. I just know with the fact that my company will soon be reaching the next level, I'm going to garner a lot of unwanted attention. After all there aren't really a lot of celebrities in Seattle and everyone knows that my family is probably one of the most if not the most influential family in Seattle. After all my father is a well-known litigator and my mom is a well-known doctor and socialite. Add in the fact that their middle child just graduated top of his class from Harvard and we've instantly become the talk of our neighborhood and Seattle's upper class. I know every election the candidates for mayor always look for the Grey family's vote. Just wait till I become rich and the attention on my family will probably increase exponentially. We'll become the talk of the town. Thankfully all of PR understands this. I hate seeing them though. They're all mostly just a bunch of women who ogle me every time I meet with them. I even saw some of them looking for pictures of me on the Internet. One of them even had a picture of me from college on her phone. She didn't think I saw it but I did. Annoying pricks. Thankfully once my company gets bigger I won't have to handle them personally.

When I met with all the other departments, everything seemed to be okay. All they needed was motivation or in this case, the threat of losing their jobs if they didn't pick things up. The IT department though was a different story. Although there are some good people there, none of them are actually really good enough to work closely with me. I have specific needs and that's why I'm going to UW next week to check out possible interns myself. Hopefully I can find some people good enough.

Looks like my motto of simplicity and efficiency is really rubbing off of my company. Ever since I came along profits have increased significantly. After comparing the figures I see that Makaton really didn't put much effort into his company. He had them going at about only 50% of their potential. He gave the employees too many off days. He made the company use lesser materials and even sold their products way below than what they're worth. He was basically a saint in the business world. He was too nice of a guy. I'm different though. My main objective is profit. Of course I won't treat my staff unethically or in a degrading manner but I won't necessarily be nice either. They all know once I came in here I meant business. I know I may seem cold to them but hey if it means they'll perform better then so be it.

Ros and I though have seemed to form this understanding. I've met her girlfriend Gwen who turns out to be brilliant as well. She's an advertising executive for a small company based here in Seattle and her work is really good. I've asked her at times for some advertising advice and she usually gives great ones. She teases me at times of being too much of a work-a-holic and that I'll never find a girlfriend at this rate. That's okay though. I don't need a girlfriend. I like working about 17 hours a day/7 days a week. It's not like I have anything else better to do. My nonstop working is also one of the reasons my company is rising at breakneck speeds. I'm an impatient man and if I want something, I do everything I can to get that thing as fast as I can. I guess I can technically call Ros and Gwen my 'friends'. I hope they're not expecting weekly games of scrabble though. That is not going to happen.

My family says I work too hard. I haven't seen them in over 3 weeks thanks to my company and I think my mom is mad that I haven't contacted them lately. I mean I still live with Elliot but I almost never see him. I'm almost always at the office. I leave way too early before he does and I arrive back way too late. I'm close to leaving his apartment though. It's just that I've spent all of my resources, even my personal resources, on my company. I'm going over to Grey Manor today though as my package from Harvard has finally arrived. Finally! It's been 5 months and it only arrives now. That has to be the worst possible service ever. Apparently there was a mix-up with the packaging and my package was sent all the way to Oklahoma for fucks sakes. That is the last time I will ever use their services. Fucking BWP. Worst service ever. It's not like there's anything in there that I really needed, but I do want the 50k I put there. If I find out it's missing I will make sure to buy BWP in the future and tear it piece by piece. You know what, I think I will anyway just for messing up my package. No one messes with Christian Grey.

I leave work a bit earlier than usual and take the bus to my parent's place. Yes that's right I am taking the fucking bus. Like I said, I invested all of my money on the company and I haven't really invested in myself. I still don't have a car or an apartment. It's only a matter of time though. Since I don't have a car, I reluctantly ride the bus. I hate public transportation. I hate having so many people near me. I especially hate the fact that I have to sit next to someone. Most of all the stares I get in the bus. I get that I have a pretty face but do they really have to stare? I try to ignore them but do they look away? No. Girls would always sit next to me and try to chat but I would just give them the cold shoulder and read some figures instead. Maybe I should just have surgery and make myself look ugly like Elliot. Nahhh. If I do that I'll never get laid.

Anyway I finally arrive at my parents' house. I walk up to the door and my mom answers.

"Christian" she says while kissing me on my cheek. "Come in. Your father and I have missed you son"

"I missed you too mom." I reply.

"Son, how are you?" My dad stands up from the sofa and shakes my hand.

"Fine dad. Where's Elliot and Mia?" I ask.

"Elliot's in the bathroom while Mia is at her room."

"I'm going to grab a drink" I say. I head into the kitchen and see a blonde woman there. Looks about my age, pretty but not my type. I clear my throat and she turns around and gasps, yes gasps when she sees me. Good grief not another one.

"Hello you must be Christian. I've heard great things about you. I'm Gretchen, the new housekeeper." She says still batting her eyelashes at me while offering her hand.

"Hello Gretchen. I'm Christian. Could I please have some water?" I reply and I take her hand. She blushes at the contact. _Oh for fucks sake._

"Hey bro! Hey Gretch, grab me a glass of water too." Elliot says and offers me his hand. I shake his hand and watch as Gretchen stumbles trying to pour the glass in the water.

"I see you've met Gretchen" Elliot says to me while sporting a shit eating grin.

"Yeah. Just now." I reply

"Hot isn't she?" he says. What the fuck?

"You do know better than to fuck the staff right? Much less the staff of our parents." I reply. For this girl's sake I really hope he doesn't.

"Don't worry bro. I won't act on it. I think she might be more interested in youth though." He says. We both look in her direction when she hands us the glasses. I take the glass and thank her. She blushes once again. Okay this is just getting annoying. I turn to leave to the living room while Elliot follows. When we're out of earshot, Elliot starts laughing hard.

"Elliot Grey, what has gotten into you?" mom asks.

"Sorry mom but Gretchen just met Christian and let's just say we can add another one to the list of Christian's admirers."

"When did you hire her mom?" I ask trying to stop Elliot from talking.

"Oh we hired her last week. Remember Ms. Lescott had to retire." She says.

"Oh right"

After that I tell them all about what I've accomplished so far and how the company has grown.

"Man Christian no wonder you've been working day and night. It sounds like your company is doing great. I barely see you around anymore." Elliot says.

"Yeah. Anyway Where's my stuff?" I ask. I'm not one for friendly conversation.

"Oh they're in Mia's room. She took them up immediately when your package arrived. We told her to leave it alone but you know Mia." Mom smiles at me apologetically and I immediately get that. Mia has always been a bit nosy. I head upstairs and open the door of her room. I enter it and I don't see Mia there but instead I see her friend Lily. What's she doing there?

She gasps when she hears the door click and she covers herself with her hands, after all she's wearing only a bra and some panties. When she sees it's me though, she drops her hands and pushes her body out.

"Christian. What a pleasure." She purrs seductively while moving closer to me.

"Lily. I'm sorry. I should have knocked." I say while moving backwards and trying to get out of the room.

"Oh no problem Christian. Were you here to see me?" she asks.

"No. I was here to see Mia. I didn't even know you were here." I move towards the door but Mia suddenly enters and sees the scene that's going on in her room.

"What's going on here?" She looks at me then to Lily then back to me. "Well I asked mom where you were and she said your room so I went here and when I entered your room she was there wearing only that." I say then point to Lily.

"Lily! Get dressed in the bathroom now! What were you doing trying them out anyway?" Mia screeches.

"Okay okay. Sorry." She gathers her clothes and goes in the bathroom.

"What was that about?" I ask. Mia sits down on her bed and takes a deep breath. Oh this is not going to be good.

"Remember when I told you your package arrived?" she asks

"Yeah" I reply. Where's she going with this?

"Well I got curious when it arrived so I opened it up. When I opened the box it turned out not to be your package."

"What?" What the fuck does she mean that it's not my package?

"Look here. It contains nothing but some books, a couple of beauty products and tons of women's dresses and undergarments." She says looking embarrassed. I meanwhile am furious. I look around and she's right. None of my items are here. What the motherfucking fuck! That's it, I will destroy BWP.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I say while brushing my hands over my hair.

"There's good news though. The owner's personal information is here and it turns out she lives in Seattle." She says. I grab the piece of paper she is holding and look at it thoroughly. The package belongs to someone named Katherine Kavanagh. She lives right here in Seattle near UW. I must contact her. With luck, she will have my package too.

I grab the items and put them all in the package. Lily comes out of the bathroom and gives me the undergarments back. I turn to leave but not before she winks at me and blows an air kiss at me. Not a chance sister. Doesn't she know when to give up? I would never go after her. She seems like a bad influence on Mia. Plus she's 17. I would probably get arrested if something ever happened between us. Most importantly though is that she's blonde. I never go after blondes. That's why I'm glad most of my staff are blonde. That way I'm not attracted to them. There are some brunettes though. I want to fire them but I can't without good reason. Good thing none of them really attract me.

I go back to Elliot's place and call Miss Kavanagh. She picks up on the 3rd ring and she immediately asks who is calling. I inform her of the predicament I am in and she informs me that she indeed has my package as well which she retrieved yesterday. Thank God! I inform her that we would both get our items faster if I would just go to her place instead of giving it back to the center. They'd probably fuck things up again. She agrees and I schedule to arrive at her apartment on Sunday right after I go to Bellevue for the weekly lunch my parents always invite me too. I don't always go, as I'm always consumed with work but since I'm going to Ms. Kavanagh's, I might as well visit my parents. Hopefully it will get my mother off my back.

/

It's Sunday afternoon and I worked all morning long. I had a jog first of course. After that I worked on some spreadsheets and then by 1:00pm I was there at my parent's house for lunch. My mother was delighted that I came and it was all worth it seeing the smile on her face along with Mia's. Mia then told me that Lily wanted to apologize for her deplorable behavior. I have a feeling Mia forced that on her but hey she can tell me that herself. After spending some time there, I proceeded to head towards to Ms. Kavanagh's apartment.

On my way I think of finally getting a sub. I have not gotten laid in a month and I feel very tense. Sailing and kickboxing can only do so much. I was right in saying that my business would consume me for the first few months but I feel like I can finally relax a little. Okay not really relax a little but get laid already once in a while. The problem is where I get a sub. Fuck! I never really thought about this. I guess I could check out the local websites. I need to procure some NDAs though, not only for my subs but also for my company. I need to make my employees sign some NDAs when I finally finish the deals I'm working on. No one needs to know what happens in the company but me and the staff.

I finally reach her place. Good looking place. Near the university. She's probably a student. I reach reception and the guy tells me their room number. The receptionist also tells me that she lives with a certain Anastasia Steele. Oh fucking great. Some sort of Russian princess is the last thing I need. I hope she isn't there then. I do not need nor want to deal with her. I don't know any Russian and I'm mostly against most of their beliefs. Maybe they have some vodka though. God knows I need a drink. It's a beautiful name though. Anastasia. Hmmm. I thought Kavanagh was English first. Huh. Anastasia Steele and Katherine Kavanagh. You would think I would be meeting European royalty at first. I even thought she was some sort of English royalty before I heard her accent on the phone. Kavanagh. It sounds so royal.

Anyway I knock on the door and after a few moments the door opens. I'm shocked to see what's beyond the door. It's a beautiful brunette girl standing there looking at me with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I have ever seen. God must have been listening to my prayers when I asked for a submissive because lucky me I think I have found one!

**A/N. Sorry for the filler chapter here but I've been really busy recently. There you go though. He finally sees the lovely Anastasia. Will Christian want her to be his submissive though or will he want something more? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Also could you guys think of a possible 21 year old Christian and a 24 year old Elliot? I'm having a really hard time thinking of anyone who could portray them.**

**Lastly if you've missed it, follow my board on Pinterest: 21 Shades of Grey**

**See ya **


	5. First impressions last

**Sorry for not updating in a while. Been really busy. Anyway here's chapter 5. Re-uploaded this to fix a few typos. I really need to proofread next time.**

**Ana's POV**

It's such a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for me, I'm spending it inside my apartment rather than enjoying the great outdoors. I always loved the outdoors. My stepfather Ray, who I consider as my real father always took me fishing when I was younger. Though I couldn't catch a thing, I just loved hanging out with him. I was definitely a daddy's girl. I would normally try to visit him again but I'm finishing this paper I have to hand in tomorrow for class.

It's a fairly easy paper and I'm almost done with it, just a few more edits and it should be good to go. We just have to properly dissect and relate some classic British novels and compare them to novels today. It's easy. Like Classic songs from the 60's to the 80's or movies from the 30's, the classics just seem to have more soul in them. I could really sense the emotion being portrayed there. Today's books are mostly just being written in order to make profit which I totally understand but what can I say, I love the classics. Everything from Bronte to Austen. People say that I don't sound like a 20 year old most of the time but I'm just not like most kids my age.

My mom says I was born old. I guess I can't argue with her about that. I do prefer reading books than going out to parties. I'm sort of a loner. I would always hang out in the library. Being there just gives me solace. I feel so comfortable and free there. Being stuck in the world of ideals. There I could be what I wanted to be without any outside fear. My mom and Kate say that at this rate, I'll never find a man. I don't care though. I don't think I need a man necessarily. It's not like anyone would want me. I'm nothing but shy, clumsy, nerdy bookworm Anastasia Steele. No one would actually be interested in me, at least that's what that bastard husband number three of my mother kept telling me. Living with him was terrible and Kate and I blame him for most of my insecurities and why I'm so shy. I mean which teenage girl who at the time was going through puberty thus becoming very self-conscious and having crazy hormones would want to be berated all the time and be called fat, ugly and unattractive? That hurts and has stuck to me until now. Kate has helped me see myself in a better light lately though. I know I'm not all that that bastard said I was but I've definitely got problems.

I'm interrupted from my Sunday afternoon musing when I hear someone knock at my door. Kate sure is early. She's supposed to be at her parent's house at the moment. I wonder if she left early. I plop myself off my bed and head to the door. I open it and I see it that it isn't Kate but instead someone else. In front of me was no other than a Greek god.

There he was. He was tall and handsome. Very handsome. Wait scratch that he was beautiful. He is beautiful. He is then embodiment of male beauty in the universe. He looks at me with the most striking pair of eyes I have ever seen. They are colored gray and they draw me in immediately. I feel like he can see right through my soul which scares me a bit but weirdly I find myself allowing him to stare into me like that. His copper colored hair looking all tousled and disheveled but that just adds to his appeal. Oh how would love to just put my hands on his head and grasp his hair while he pleasures me. I bet his hair is so soft. _What are you thinking Steele? Shut up! You're thinking crazy_! His hair is amazing though. And his face, yes his face. It is absolute perfection. How can anyone look so good? He is definitely the best looking guy I have ever seen all throughout my 20 years of living in 4 cities. I swear I'm going to petition to Washington to allow his face to be carved alongside Abraham Lincoln at Mount Rushmore. His face looks like it was intricately carved by angels or even like God himself purposely created his face and made him the perfect being.

His body is also to die for. He looks exceptional in his black sweater which just hugs his very muscular yet lean torso. He also looks like he's wearing expensive jeans and shoes. I can tell he must work out. He is tall and his body screams sex. Not that I would know anything about sex. I am after all a virgin. Kate says it's abnormal of me to be one but I don't think so. No one has just interested me enough for me to give it up. Is it so wrong for me to wait for the right time, moment and person to be with?

I can't help but feel inadequate next to him. He looks so good in his designer clothes while I'm in nothing but some shorts and a UW shirt. I look up at him and he seems to be lost in thought as well. He snaps out of it though and finally begins to acknowledge me.

I remember my manners and greet him with a smile which he returns to me. Oh his smile is gorgeous! His teeth are so white, I swear you could blind someone with them. His smile must be one of the reasons for the sea levels rising. He must cause the polar caps and glaciers to melt with that smile.

"Hello I'm sorry but I don't know you. Are you looking for Kate?" I ask him. He looks at me confused before answering.

"Excuse me Kate?" he replies and not shockingly he also has the sexiest voice I have ever heard. It's so firm yet sensual sounding. I could hear him talk all day.

"Yes Kate my roommate. I'm Anastasia Steele. Pleased to meet you." I say to him and offer my hand which he takes. Ahh! What was that? I felt something overcome me when I touched his hand. That was weird.

"Oh pardon me where are my manners. I'm Christian. Christian Grey and I'm sorry but I was actually looking for a Katherine Kavanagh. Do you know anyone of that name?" he asks.

"Oh that is my roommate. She just prefers to be called Kate for short."

"Okay. Is Kate around?" Oh he's looking for Kate. Is she seeing him? Is he one of her admirers? Is that why he's here? Kate has had her fair share of admirers. She is gorgeous after all. She's outgoing, loud, confident, curvy and so sexy. Everything I'm not. That's too bad because I feel so attracted to him. _Hah! Like he'll even be remotely interested in you. Look at him. Look at you. _

Kate and I have been best friends since our freshman year over at UW. We got paired up by the housing board and we've been friends ever since. We just connected. We're very different though. I wonder why we're even friends though. She surely must hangout with other people more than me. People way better than me. She is after all wealthy. Her dad is the founder of Kavanagh media and he lets her and I stay in this apartment rather than the dorms at the university. The apartment here is bigger than those at UW. She insists on letting me stay here for free but I refuse it. The independent streak in me not letting me give in so I pay her for rent. I have a feeling though that she's asking for too little and I feel like she's always trying to give me stuff or lend me money but she denies it every time and I don't have any proof so I just go along with her. I look up and see that Christian is studying my face carefully. Do I have something on me? I touch my face and I feel nothing there really so I just reply to his question.

"No she left a while ago. You should try calling her." I say.

"Yeah but she told me to meet her here today at this time." What? Did Kate bail on him?

"Oh, let me try to contact her then. She should be at her parent's house. Please take a seat." I offer him. He moves to the sofa and boys does he really look good doing that. He's just so graceful. He's like a gazelle prancing through the plains of Africa. I can tell he must be cultured and well mannered. Yet another reason that makes him so darned attractive. Why can't more men be like him?

I then grab my phone and text Kate

**Hey where are you. Christian is already here –A**

**Sorry, just leaving now. –K**

**How long will you be? –A**

**I don't know, not long though. Just distract him till I get back. Make sure he doesn't leave. –K**

**I'll try -A**

"She should be here in a while." I say to him.

"Oh okay." He says then sighs and leans back on the sofa and puts down a box right next to him. How did I notice that only now and also, how do I distract him? I really don't know what to do in these sort of situations. I guess friendly conversation can't hurt. I sit down at the far end of the sofa and look at him.

"So Christian, are you a student like Kate and I?" I ask.

"No, I actually just graduated from Harvard a few months ago." I see he's smart as well then. Thank God. At least Kate won't be dating anymore stupid frat boys who don't do anything but drink and party.

"So what do you do now?" It must have been at least a while now since he graduated. I'm curious if he has a job already or if he's doing anything else yet.

"I started my own business. It's called GreyCT and it's in telecommunications. I've also recently acquired another couple of companies to add to my portfolio." Impressive. He looks so young to own his own business though. He must work hard then. I can definitely see he has ambition and he looks pretty driven.

"Impressive although you are quite young to have your own business already. How old are you?" I reply.

He chuckles a bit and I'd be lying if that didn't sound sexy. "I get that a lot – me being young to have my own business but what can I say, I'm passionate about it. To answer your question though, I'm 21. What about you? What do you do?" he asks. . So he's my age. He seems so mature though. Like he's beyond his years. Just like me.

"Well I'm 20 and currently a junior college student at UDub."

"What major?"

"English Lit"

"I see. So you like to read?"

"Yes. I'm very passionate about books. Always have been since I was a child." It's true. I would always ask for books for Christmas and my birthday when I was younger. My mom thought I was different because all the girls my age would ask for clothes or gadgets but I guess she was lucky then that she didn't need to spend much for me. Not that she had any real money anyway. She usually was supported by whoever was her husband was at the time while she would go off in her latest venture. Last I heard she tried unsuccessfully to become a singer. Thank God I didn't hear her sing. She is terrible like me in singing. Must be the genes.

"What kind of books?" he asks me.

"All kinds although I have to say my favorites are the old English novels."

"Ah. The classics. So what are your other interests?" he says as he tries to cover up his yawn. Am I boring him?

"Well nothing really besides reading. I mean I do like to spend time in the outdoors. I also sorta like to cook. I feel like I have to know how to cook though because Kate can't cook to save her life. I swear she doesn't even know how to make some toast. I feel like she would actually only eat takeout if I wasn't here." Yes since Kate was privileged, she apparently had maids all the time and never learnt how to cook anything. The fact that she actually planned on living through take out through out her stay in college was absolutely ridiculous! Luckily she has me for a roommate. At least I learned something useful from my mom and watching kitchen shows as a kid.

"I actually do that." What?

"Do what?"

"I only eat take out" how the?

"Really? Why?"

"Well I'm still living at my brother's apartment while I still don't have my own place and neither of us can really cook so we pretty much just order out all the time."

"That's too bad. Nothing replaces a good home made meal through."

"Yeah. I miss real food like whenever I visit my parents." He says with a chuckle.

"Well maybe I could cook for you sometime if you'd want. I have to say I'm pretty good in the kitchen." I say with a smile. Wait what? Did I just flirt with him? I think I did. This is so embarrassing. Where did that come from? I need to diffuse the situation fast. He looks at me questioningly at first but then surprises me with his answer.

"Sure. I'd love to eat some of your food. God knows I need to eat real food again. I'm sure whatever you cook will be delicious." He says while winking at me. I blush at the eye contact. Did he just flirt back? _Of course not Steele! He just wants free food like all men do. _But still he did actually seem interested…

"Great. How will I be able to see you again though? It's not like I know where you live or how to call you." I say coyly. Oh My God where has my filter gone! Since when did I begin to brazenly flirt with guys? Oh this is so embarrassing.

"Why Ms. Steele are you flirting with me and asking for my number?" He says in such an accusing yet playful tone that just melts my heart. He looks so swoon worthy. I instantly blush and cover my face with my hands hoping to calm my inner goddess down. _Stop with the brazen flirting! _No! He's so hot and I can tell you like him and he likes you._ Fine but you're gonna get it if things go wrong. _But wait did he just call me Ms. Steele? What am I 50? I think that's a bit too much of the manners.

"You don't have to call me Ms. Steele. It makes me feel old."

"Okay then Anastasia." I just love the way my name rolls off of his tongue. It sounds so sexy.

"It's Ana please."

"Okay then Ana. You haven't answered my question though. Were you just asking for my number and flirting with me?" Ok now I'm put back on the spot.

"I don't know. Was I?" I fire back at him.

"I think you were. Although I have to admit, I think it's my job to be doing all of those things and asking for your number. Not the other way around."

"Um we are in the 21st century already you know that right? Women do have equal rights as men. Are you implying that you're a chauvinist Christian?" I say to him though I know he is only kidding around.

"Oh no. Trust me, I actually champion women all the time. I feel like there's this sensitivity and whole range of emotions that only women get. I actually have tons of women working for my business and I have to say they're all pretty capable of themselves."

"Oh that's good then. I can't stand chauvinists." I say and he yawns again. Okay Am I really that boring? He seems to sense my annoyance as he quickly reassures me of that not being the case.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that I don't get much sleep lately with my business and all. It has nothing to do with you. This is actually the most lively activity I've had all day."

"Oh thank you." At least he doesn't think I'm boring. "Anyway where were we? Oh yes I was telling you I hate chauvinists."

"Yeah I figured that. I didn't figure that you were the type to be so brazen with your flirting though. What else are you hiding Ana?" he says with a smirk and with that I feel my cheeks redden again so I proceed to cover my face with my hands and look the other way. That Bastard. He's doing this on purpose and he's enjoying it! I suddenly feel his hands move my hands away from my face and he grabs my chin with the tips of his fingers and makes me look straight into his eyes. Wow they are truly gorgeous. They seem sad though. It's as if he's been carrying some heavy things for a while now and like he seems lost.

"Don't hide from me Ana. I like seeing you." He says.

"Ok. Sorry." He leans a bit closer to me and I think he's going to kiss me but then my phone rings and I see that it's Kate. Goddamn it Kate! You have the worst timing ever. I move to grab my phone on the table while he readjusts himself on the couch. I check the message and see that she's almost here. I tell her ok then proceed to look at him again. I can't believe he was actually going to kiss me. Me of all people. I figured he would rather go for someone way prettier than me like Kate. Kate, oh shit!

"Oh I'm so sorry!" I say feeling mortified.

"Why what's wrong?" What's wrong? He came here to see my friend and he's flirting with me? Is this guy some player jerk who's going to hurt Kate? I do not want to handle another one of her terrible breakups wherein she would watch TV all day in her pajamas while eating some ice-cream.

"What's wrong? We were flirting with each other when you obviously came here for Kate!" I shout.

"So? There's nothing wrong with that." Two timing bastard!

"What do you mean nothing's wrong? You're seeing my best friend then you proceed to flirt with me? How dare you treat my friend like that! And what kind of woman do you think I am?" I cannot believe this. He actually has the nerve to look shocked before he bursts laughing and I admit I would swooning at his very sexy laugh if I wasn't so mad.

"What's so funny?" I say. I cannot believe he finds this humorous.

"You!" What in the world? Is there actually something on me?

"What do you mean me?" OK now I'm getting really pissed off.

"I'm not dating Kate." He says.

"What?" I'm confused now.

"I'm not dating Kate. I came here because we had switched packages thanks to the awful service of BWP and I told her we would get our stuff faster if I just came over here. I actually haven't even seen her yet. I've only talked to her once over the phone."

"Oh" I am such an idiot. I really shouldn't be so presumptuous. I look at him and he smirks at me. Why?

"Yeah Oh. Also Ana I didn't peg you to be the jealous type." Wait what?

"Me? Jealous?" That is ridiculous! Isn't it?

"Yes. You looked really angry at me. I could even see little traces of smoke coming out of your nose and your ears." He says laughing at me. Ok I just act even sillier by crossing my arms over my chest and looking at my side. When he continues laughing, I just huff and continue to ignore him. After a while he eventually settles and tries to calm me down.

"Okay Ana. I'm sorry." He says to me. Not good enough.

"Sorry for what?" I ask him trying to test him.

"I'm sorry for purposely teasing you." Good. "And I'm sorry that you're so jealous." He says to me and begins to chuckle again. I just huff again and look in the other direction.

"Please Ana. I really am sorry. Don't be mad anymore." He pleads with me. I know I'm being completely ridiculous but I can't help it. I eventually realize how silly I actually am acting and I laugh with him. He sees that as his chance to laugh freely until we both run out of breath. Ah this just seems right. Two people enjoying each other's company. It takes a while before we both calm down. Once we do, he looks at me again with something in his eyes. Adoration? Thanks? Gratitude?

"Thank you for making me laugh. Haven't had one in a while." He says and I see the sincerity in his eyes. Whatever he has been through seems to have been rough for him to look this sad.

"No problem. Everyone deserves to laugh although I wasn't really trying to be funny, I'll take what you said as a compliment." I say to him and he smiles again at me. His smile is absolutely breath taking.

"So how about that number of yours?" He seems shy and nervous. He actually looks cute as hell. He looks like one of those kids at school where they're super nervous cause they're talking to the prettiest girl in school even though the case right now is far from it. I just smile and in a wild act of courage, proceed to tell him. I have never given my number out before but with him, it just feels right.

"Thank you." He says sincerely before giving me a smile that could melt any frozen heart. I suddenly feel shy again and proceed to look away as I feel my cheeks redden again but his fingers grab my chin and force me to look at him.

"Hey. I told you I liked seeing you. Don't shy away from me." He says and he begins to lean forward. This is it. He's going to kiss me. He stops though when we both suddenly hear the door opening and right then and there Kate finally arrives. Oh Kate you have the worst timing! Christian audibly grunts and stands up, his manners taking over and he offers his hand.

"Hello. You must be Katherine. I'm Christian Grey. Thank you for allowing me into your lovely home." He says. I like his chivalry and politeness. Kate seems taken aback at first, understandably though as he is without a doubt the most beautiful being on this planet. She recovers fast though and shakes his hand firmly.

"Hello Christian. Thank you for coming. I'm sorry for being late. My little gathering ran a bit late and I tried leaving as fast as I could." Kate mumbles apologetically.

"Oh it's no problem. Ana here provided me with great company while I waited for you." He says then he looks at me and smiles. I smile back and I notice Kate look at me and check if I'm okay. Understandably as this guy was a stranger. Lucky for me he's harmless. I wonder what if he wasn't actually who he said he was. Am I really that naïve? I can't help it though. I just happen to see the good in everyone and trust them most of the time.

"Well that's nice to hear. Let me get your stuff then." She says and proceeds to go to her room. Christian goes to the restroom in the meanwhile while I fix myself up and rethink what has happened so far. I still cannot believe what I've done so far. It's weird because I have never felt this attraction to anyone else before and I feel that the attraction is not just physical. I feel this attraction on another level as well. I wonder if he feels it too. I hope so. I hope Kate doesn't feel attracted to him though. I'm brought out of my thoughts when he returns and offers me a small smile. Kate returns after a bit with a box in hand and she lays it on the table.

Ah yes the box. She received it yesterday as her aunt from New York had sent her tons of items. When she opened the box, it wasn't her items though. Lucky for both of them that they had each other's packages.

They both open up their packages and I see Kate's package containing everything from clothes, to underwear, to purses and even a camera. She swiftly grabs the camera and begins to play around with it. Christian then opens his box and I see clothes for him and some male undergarments. I blush a bit as I see that they're pretty big and you can guess why they're pretty big. He sees me blushing and winks at me causing me to blush even harder. I see the other items in his box being some trophies, a sealed envelope and some small trinkets and personal items. There is another box inside it though he hasn't opened it.

I get curious and ask him what are those trophies for and he tells me they were his rowing trophies from his time at Harvard.

"Yeah it was great for me. I had real fun rowing and I learned a lot from it too." He says to me about his rowing and I see a genuine smile on his face appear. I can't but feel happy that he's happy.

"Hey guys, I need to check if the facial recognition thing on this camera works so could you scoot together and let me take a pic?" Kate says looking at both me and Christian. I'm about to say something but Christian suddenly pulls me close to him. He puts his arm around my shoulders and smiles for the camera. I just smile back while Kate takes a few flashes. Oh it feels heavenly being so near Christian.

I notice some dirt on Christian's chest and I boldly move my hand over it and proceed to wipe it away. When I do, he tenses. His pupils get large and his breathing intensifies for a bit. He eventually calms down though but that was weird.

"Is everything alright Christian?" I ask. Did I do something wrong?

"Yes. Yes. Everything's fine." He says. I know he's lying but I don't push it. Kate finally satisfied with the camera decides to fix her things while Christian does the same to his items.

After he fixes them, he turns to leave. I feel a bit reluctant to let him go but before he does I ask him to wait a moment. He looks confused but obliges. I go into the kitchen and pull out of the fridge some of my home made tuna casserole. I go put it in a container and head back to the lobby where Christian and Kate are seemingly having a conversation.

"So Katherine, do you have any relation to Kavanagh media?" he asks her.

"Please call me Kate." He nods. "To answer your question, yes. My father owns the company. What about you, you don't happen to be the son of the Greys from Bellevue are you?" she retorts.

"Yeah that's me. Christian the middle child."

"Wow, so you're the hotshot son of theirs that just graduated summa cum laude from Harvard and now owns his own business." Wow. He is way smart and successful…and wait out of my league. _Oh stop it! He's already gotten your number, he must like you_! Yes you're right. I can't let this stop me now.

I walk over to him and hand him the container and watch as his face scrunches up in confusion. Oh he looks adorable!

"What's this?" he asks.

"You said you wanted a nice home cooked meal, so I got some of my home made tuna casserole from the fridge. I hope you like it. You just have to heat it up and it should be good to go." I say. He becomes quite for a bit while he just looks at the food I gave him? What's wrong? Is he allergic?

"Wow. Thank you Ana. I'm touched. No one has ever done anything like this for me. I really appreciate it." I can see the sincerity in his eyes and I know he really is moved by this. Oh Christian what's wrong? Has someone treated you badly before that you never experienced this sort of kindness? Don't worry I'm here now. _Whoa. Where did that come from? _I suddenly have this urge in me to protect Christian from anything bad that might happen. I just feel that he's had it rough in life and now I can't control myself from trying to help him. Weird.

"Well I should be going. Thank you for having me Kate and Ana." He says and heads for the door. Before he leaves though I turn to him and kiss his cheek. He looks surprised at first before eventually smiling back at me. Oh his skin is absolutely flawless.

"Now don't let that tuna go to waste. I happened to work hard on that." I say to him while putting my hands on my hips trying to be intimidating but it doesn't work as he clearly sees the humor intended behind it as he chuckles.

"Don't worry, I never waste food. If it's as good as you advertise, I better keep it away from my brother. He eats like a pig." He says before laughing and I laugh with him.

"Okay well I have to go. Thank you really Ana for today." he says after composing himself. He is really sincere about this.

"No problem. They'll be more where that came from if you want. Have a safe trip home."

"Thank you. I will. Goodbye." He says before finally turning around and leaving. Sigh. I hate to see him go but I love to see him leave. That ass is perfection. It is all muscle and is perfectly toned. I sigh and close the door. When I turn around I see Kate there standing still holding the camera and looking at me funny.

"What?" I say. Is there something on me again?

"What was that? I leave you alone with him for 5 minutes and after that you act all smitten and loved up." She says. Did I look that way?

"Oh that's crazy talk Kate." I say trying to act all nonchalant but she doesn't buy it. Damn.

"Oh don't lie honey. You two were like 2 peas in a pod. You have instant chemistry. And the food you gave him and that kiss on the cheek at the end? So sweet. I can see that you like him and he likes you too."

"You think he likes me too?" I say trying to get some reassurance since I still have self-esteem issues.

"Yes girl. Definitely." I smile at that.

"And by that smile you're sporting I can tell you like him too." She says and with that I blush.

"Well we had an interesting afternoon. When he arrived, we talked and just connected." I try to defend myself.

"Well I can definitely see that girl."

"Anyway, I'm gonna continue my paper now. I'll call you later when dinner's ready."

"Oh yeah! I have to finish my paper too. Thanks for reminding me. By the way, I saw how you were checking his ass out when he was leaving and I can't blame you girl. That man is perfection. Did I hear him say he has a brother though?" Typical Kate. I just shake my head and walk back to my room.

/

I finally finish my paper and see that it's 11pm. I lie down on my bed and get ready to sleep but I suddenly hear my phone buzz. I check it and see that it's a text from an unknown number.

**Hi there. Thanks again for having me a while ago. Your tuna was absolutely delicious. – Christian.** I smile at that. Christian actually texted me and he actually ate my food and liked it.

**I'm glad you liked it. There's more where that came from**. **– Ana**. His reply is almost instant.

**Oh I look forward to more of it in the future.** **–Christian**

**Good. Well I gotta go sleep. I have class tomorrow. Good night - Ana**

**Okay. I just wanted to check up on you. Good night - Christian.**

Oh I love the fact that he just checked up on me. I find myself liking Christian Grey more and more. I would like to talk to him more but unfortunately I have class tomorrow so I have to sleep. I will definitely be dreaming about gray eyes tonight though.

**Christian's POV**

I finally arrive back at Elliot's place. What a day.

First I managed to complete a couple of acquisitions early in the morning thus increasing my company's presence and expanding my portfolio. Yes, I can finally establish Grey Enterprises now that I have managed to get new companies and expand further into the telecommunications market. I managed to buy them cheaply from the owners. I exposed the flaws in their companies and told them that without outside help, they would soon fall down. Naturally, they got scared and decided to sell. Individually, the companies were a bit problematic. As a whole though, I can definitely make things work. All the companies I have complement each other and and thanks to my leadership have managed to increase production and improve efficiency.

Ros has been a godsend. Thanks to our combined efforts, my company has turned in record profit. People in my company are apparently happier with the success the company is making compared to the previous reign and it seems that the overall mood has been raised. Sometimes success just does that. It helps bring everyone closer thanks to a sense of fulfillment being obtained. It's like how a title winning sports team just cheers everyone up. I'm certainly proud of my staff. They've so far met my expectations and have performed admirably once I straightened them out. Of course none of my success would be possible without having the right people around me. Ros says at this rate, I'll be a millionaire in a few months. I say though that I'll be a millionaire in a few weeks. I don't doubt that. I have some tricks up my sleeve and a few connections I can call to pull that off. I won't be surprised if I become the world's youngest billionaire. After all the world's youngest billionaire is 24 and I'm certain I can reach billionaire status by that age. More impressive is that I made my success, the world's youngest billionaire inherited her success. I am fully confident that my company has nowhere to go but up.

When it became noon, I closed up for the day and headed over to my parents. My mom was glad that I went there of course. I normally don't go there but I have to be somewhere after there anyway so why not? Everything seemed normal though. No problems to report. Everything was the same except for the fact that my parents finally replaced Ms. Lescott, our old housekeeper. She was a good housekeeper but she reached that certain age where she finally had to retire. I don't like her replacement though. Gretchen is my age and it's obvious she has a thing for me. I hope she doesn't become a problem anytime soon. And that Lily aka Mia's best friend. Talk about brazen. I've seen her in her underwear and I didn't show any interest in her at all. Was that not enough for her to finally realize I don't like her? Really some women are just relentless!

Anyway after a quick sail on my parent's yacht, I left and went to Ms. Kavanagh's apartment to get my stuff. To my surprise though, Ms. Kavanagh was not there but instead the delectable Anastasia. Anastasia is perfect in every sense. She is beautiful. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She is a goddess. Her tiny frame managing to perfectly encapsulate her perky tits, lovely hips and delicious legs. Yes her legs are phenomenal.

Her face is also perfect. She has the most beautiful pair of eyes I have ever seen. They are colored blue. Those eyes of her are so entrancing and just drew me in like a moth to a flame. I admit I felt uncomfortable at first as her eyes seemed to be able to see through me despite all the barriers I have put up but surprisingly, I let her see through me. It's as if I wanted her to see me for who I really am. Now that is something I don't say every day.

The flaw I saw about Anastasia though is her innocence. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that she seems so innocent but someone so innocent could certainly never be a sub could they? I mean based on what I observed she could never be one. She's too innocent and independent. She just seems to not have a submissive bone in her body and that's causing me problems. I want a sub and I know she can't be one but I can't seem to get her out of my head.

Normally I would be looking for a sub right now but since meeting Anastasia a while ago, all I think about is her. She has completely interested me. I know she can't be a sub though can't she? Fuck! I hate this. With her I lose absolute control of myself. I act like a fool and let my walls all fall down when I'm near her. I need to be able to control myself better but unfortunately her magic is just too good.

I could tell she was flirting with me a while ago and since I took an interest in her, I flirted back. It all seemed so normal. So good. I never thought I would ever derive enjoyment from something as simple as that but with Anastasia it seems I can. What is with that girl? Besides looking so cute when she's all riled up.

When I was about to leave, she surprised me by giving me some food that she cooked herself for dinner. I was touched by her gesture. No one has ever done such a kind act to me except for my family. Add that to the fact that it was food and it hit close to home and of course I couldn't say no. She truly is a wonderful person and it makes me angry at myself that I would want to introduce her to my dark ways. Unfortunately I can't control myself over her.

I change out of my clothes and settle into some shorts and a shirt and proceed to heat up the tuna. Thank God I managed to at least learn how to heat up food. It's quite ironic. I vow to never go hungry again yet I can't cook for myself. What can I say cooking just isn't for me. I've tried it and failed miserably. Maybe this is some sort of balancing factor from the universe. My advanced mathematical and business acumen over my deplorable culinary skills. I chuckle at the thought.

The tuna is finally heated and I put in on a plate ready to eat but I head to the bathroom to wash my hands first. What can I say, I'm a control and neat freak. When I come back though, I see Elliot over the dinner table eating my tuna. Fucking Elliot.

"What the fuck are you doing eating my food?" I can deduce that he just started to eat but still, I don't like being surprised.

"Fuck Bro where did you get this? I was just gonna eat the pizza in the fridge for dinner but damn this is good. It's the best tuna casserole I've ever had." He says while taking another bite. That's it.

"I got it from a friend now fuck off." I tell him and proceed to grab the tuna but not before he grabs another spoonful of it. Bastard.

"Hey don't be selfish man. That shit's really good." I ignore him and proceed to eat at the other end of the table while Elliot grabs the pizza from the fridge. I take a bite and holy fuck it is exquisite. It's the best tuna casserole I've ever tasted. Ana wasn't kidding when she said she knew how to cook. If this is what Ana can provide me then fuck if she's going to be my sub or not, I must have more soon. And to think I would have been content eating nothing but takeout for the next few months.

After eating, I work over a few more spreadsheets. I'm glad I got the 50k in the box I sent home from Harvard. With the 50k, I can finally complete the acquisition of another company. Yes I just love the feeling of doing extremely well. The feeling I get when I buy a company, make it successful and bask in the glory is absolute delight. It seems like I'll finally have to go to UW within the week to shore up my IT department with my expanding company needing it. Hopefully someone there will be good enough for my company. Maybe I can see Ana there. Grab some coffee and hopefully some dinner as well. What? Where did that come from?

I decide to turn in at 11:00pm since I'll leave early for work tomorrow. Hey I gotta put in the hours if I'm gonna meet my deadline of becoming a millionaire in a few weeks. Before I turn in, I decide to text Ana. I tell her that the tuna was great and I would love to have more of it from her. She tells me that she can definitely do that and that she has class tomorrow so she has to sleep. We wish each other goodnight and there I realize that I don't know what I want with Ana whether it be a submissive relationship or something else. With my lack of dom training, I am basically an amateur when to being a dom besides my natural domineering personality and my need for control at all times. With her possibly becoming my first submissive, I could seriously hurt her without enough training. Fuck! I cannot do that. The thought of Ana hurt is abhorrent to me. To see her pretty face writhing in pain not being accompanied by pleasure or her body covered in bruises sickens me. Nothing should mar her perfect body.

I realize that I can't really be a dom without training. Then again, I'm not sure I can give up the lifestyle. After all I need control. What I do know is that I want Anastasia in any way I can. The fact that when she touched me, it didn't hurt makes me want her even more. Whether it be through a sub or *gulp* something vanilla. All I know is I want more of her and what Christian Grey wants, Christian Grey gets.

**A/N There you go. His first meeting with Ana. **

**Visit my Pinterest page: 21 Shades of Grey **

**Also still open to suggestions to who could look like 21 year old Christian and 24 year old Elliot (I just wanna have some ideas on who could possibly portray them cause right now, I'm thinking of some of my classmates in college as them lol)**


	6. Twas a good day for Fifty

**Christian's POV**

***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *CLICK***

I wake up and turn off my alarm clock. I check the clock and see the time. It's 5:00 am. Yes enough time for my morning jog. I go to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I surprisingly don't have any eye bags even though I've only been getting on average 3 hours of sleep per day. Must be good genes. Hey I know that sleeping only 3 hours a night sounds crazy but trust me I can handle it. After all, great leaders only need 3 hours of sleep. Or at least I need only 3 hours of sleep.

I wash my face and after a bit of grooming, I go out of the bathroom and change into some running gear and proceed to go out of the apartment and start my run.

Ah yes. Everything is quiet. I guess that's to be expected when it's so early but I like it. I like the silence all around me. I like being able to clearly think my thoughts while running. Running is serving as my daily workout since I can't actually work out because my company is consuming all of my time so far. Once my company gets bigger, I plan to get a personal trainer and possibly workout daily. No way am I going to start going to a fucking public gym. I know I am a pretty fit guy but I want to reach the peak of human perfection. I want the perfect amount of stamina for long fucking sessions. I want the best arms and legs I can muster so that I can perform in the most intricate positions with my limbs during sex with ease. Don't get me wrong I know I'm a pretty fit and good looking guy but still, I want to be the best so I can perform the best thus getting the best in return.

I continue running and running. Maybe this could be a new form of releasing energy for me. Maybe my new rowing. Nah. I still plan on running everyday but I need something more intense such as kickboxing to release some energy and calm my nerves. I should get enough exercise then between running, kickboxing and fucking.

Speaking of fucking, I still haven't found a sub. Although I have found someone, a certain blue eyed brunette who just cannot seem to get out of my head. I met with her on Monday and it's already Friday and I still haven't gotten her out of my head. It's like she's been embedded in the deepest recesses of my mind, preventing me from forgetting her. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want to forget her. I just think I might have to. I got the notion that she could never be a submissive. She seems to innocent and independent for that. The question is can I have a strictly vanilla relationship with her? These are the times when I wish I could just go into some BDSM clubs and have some sessions without having to worry about people recognizing you when you get famous.

In college I figured out that since I couldn't have club sex all the time, I had to settle for plain ol' casual sex. Of course it wasn't as satisfying as the power and feeling of control I had during club sex but still, it was sex. I never thought I would have been able to pull off vanilla. Thankfully Elliot helped me how by giving me some tips. That's right tips. How embarrassing. I still remember what he said to me when I was 16.

"_Hey bro. I see you like Quinn." Elliot says to me while handing me a can of coke. What?_

"_What do you mean?" I open my can after thanking him and proceed to drink it. Ah it tastes so good. God knows I need to cool down a bit._

"_I see the way you look at Quinn. I can't blame you though. She is fine as fuck. I wonder if she would do me even though she's gay." Yes we were both looking at Quinn Davies. She's 24 years old and hot as hell. Her dress accentuates all her best features yet still giving her that classy look. Elliot has wanted to fuck her for a while now but can't cause she plays for the other team. We first saw her at my parent's yearly charity event called Coping Together 3 years ago which raises money for kids who have suffered a lot especially those who might have experienced abuse and have fallen off the wagon. For every year since then, her family has always been coming to it and I can't say Elliot or I am complaining. _

"_So? It's nothing but pure lust. I mean look at her."_

"_I bet you could fuck her Christian." What?_

"_How the fuck is that supposed to happen? First of all, she's a lesbian. Secondly she's 24 while I'm 16. She would get arrested immediately if people found out. 3__rd__, her parents are friends with mom and dad, don't you think that'll be awkward and last and most importantly, if you hadn't noticed I can't bear to touched so how in the world would I be able to have sex?" I say. It's a bit hypocritical of me. After all I am fucking Elena who is friends with mom and happens to be way older than me but still, what Elliot is proposing is completely ridiculous._

"_Okay first of all, she keeps on saying how cute you look so maybe, you could covert her you know?" he says while wiggling his eyebrows. I just roll my eyes. I'm still taking up my masteral's in fucking and how to please women at Elena's playroom and converting lesbians is at a PhD level. "To answer your 2__nd__ and 3__rd__ questions, just keep things a secret. No one has to know." That is true. I've been doing that with Elena for a while now. "Lastly, you can still have sex without people touching your chest and upper back." Now this interests me._

"_How?" I ask._

"_Well you can either hold their hands up above their heads to the sides while she's lying down on her back. You could also try fucking her from behind. No way she'll touch you then. Another option is tying her hands up if she's down, just tell her that it'll make things more intense by her not having control therefore she'll be surprised and lastly just ask her nicely to not touch your chest or upper back. Just tell her you got into a fight or accident or something and you have a broken rib or something." Interesting. Those do seem like good ideas. Beats having to not have sex. I am fairly content with Elena now though. I'll might use his advice in the future if the situation ever arises where I need vanilla._

"_Ok Elliot thanks."_

"_No problem bro. I really think it's time to pop your cherry though. And who better than to that fine piece of ass." Elliot says as we see Quinn turn her back and leave. Her ass so fuckable in the dress. Yes please bend over some more. Thank you Mrs. Davies for knocking her glass out of her hand forcing her to pick it up. I look at Elliot and he just gives me that shit eating grin I've become so used to. We sure are perverted fucks._

I never did have sex with Quinn though. I never actually planned to pursue her. I was with Elena after all and I was and still am completely monogamous. Plus she would have likely found out anyway if I had sex with her and she would have taken it out on me so hard I probably wouldn't have been able to walk.

Anyway back to the topic at hand. I know I can schmooze Anastasia to becoming mine. The question though is will I be able to be kept satisfied with just a vanilla relationship. After all, after Elena, all I had were one night stands and club sex. I have a feeling Anastasia is not going to be willing to either of those plus I don't want to have just a one night stand with her. She deserves way better than that. It makes me angry that someone would possibly ever do that. Over my dead body.

See what I mean? I seem to lose all my control around her yet I can't help it. I've only talked to her once and I'm already think thoughts like those. What is wrong with me? Would she be willing to be my fuck buddy then? I'm not sure about that. Again she seems too innocent. I mean I really shouldn't pursue her but I just can't seem to stay away from her. Fuck! Why must I be so fucked up!

I finish my run and head back to Elliot's apartment. I go inside and see that he hasn't left yet. Weird, he ususally leaves by the time I'm having my run. Maybe he has the day off. I decide against waking him up and I let myself cool down a bit before taking a bath. After a while I get in the shower. Ah yes the cool water flowing down my skin feels heavenly. I wish that the water would wash away all the scars and pain that I still have felt throughout my body and that still envelope around me. Unfortunately it isn't the case. I think that I'll never be rid of all my problems. I know it sounds bad but I'm used to it. I know I'll never be healed and I'm okay with that. I'm not saying I'm happy with it but I've accepted my fate.

I get dressed for work by wearing my suit but decide to go for a bit of business casual instead since I'm going to UW today to go check some potential interns for my company's IT department. I'm going there personally because if I find the right people, they'll be working with me very closely and I cannot afford any mishaps. I finish my outfit and look at myself in the mirror and I have to say I look good even without the coat. Maybe I should consider one of the most sought after requests from my employees being Business Casual Fridays. I'll think about it.

I head out of the apartment and go to the bus to work. Again I still don't have a car or apartment. Pretty embarrassing for someone who owns a business like mine but like I said, I'm putting all of my resources both personal and work related to my company so it can grow as soon as it can. I do plan to rectify those situations soon though. I really need my own place and method of transportation already. While on the bus I do a bit of work. After a bit I see an old lady sit down beside me. She looks like she's in her 70s and she's holding her purse on her lap. She smiles at me and I can't help but smile back. She looks like a kind old lady who would do nothing really to annoy me unlike those girls who keep trying to sit next to me all the time. I work a bit more until I hear her talking to me.

"Hello there." The old lady says.

"Hello." I say back. I don't really have time for this but I can't help but be polite to her. She seems…nice.

"What a good looking boy you are."

"Thank you." What else can I say? I hope she isn't flirting with me. I don't think I could blatantly ignore an old lady unlike girls my age.

"What are you doing there son?" I ignore the fact that she just called me 'son' even though it annoys me a bit.

"Just some business for my company ma'am." I reply.

"Oh you seem so young to own your own business. I bet you're one smart cookie. Aren't you?" Okay enough with the compliments!

"Thank you ma'am."

"It seems like you're working awfully hard there." Ok this is really annoying me now. Stop with the 21 questions!

"I am ma'am." Maybe if I try and become taciturn she'll start to ignore me.

"Well just don't work too hard now. Make sure to leave some time for your family and for your girlfriend." What the? I'm about to respond but suddenly I see my stop so I immediately get up, acknowledge her then leave. That was awkward. I head to my building and proceed to start my day. Hopefully I won't have to deal any more pesky old ladies anymore today.

/

When it's 8:00 am, I receive a text from someone. I'm happy though when I see its Anastasia.

**Good** **Morning**. **–A**

**Good morning beautiful. :) –C**

**Yeah right. If you saw me right now, you would run away in terror. I look like I've been through a tornado! –A**.Oh Ana**. **Is she seriously doubting her beauty?

**I seriously doubt that. –C**

**Well it's the truth. Anyway what are you up to? –A**

**Work. –C**

**Work**! **But** **it's** **only** **8:00** **am!** –**A.** I chuckle at that. I see Anastasia is not a morning person.

**I've actually been up since 5:00… -C**

**What? You're crazy. –A**

**Yeah well I'm successful so I guess it's a fair trade. –C**

**Yeah. I gotta go get dressed for class. Bye Christian. –A**

**Bye Ana. –C**

And just like that my mood has been lifted. See what I mean when I say I cannot not be around her? I'm glad we've been texting each other for the past 4 days since I've seen her. God I want her so much.

/

"Thank you Mr. Onyewu. Believe me that this will be the best decision you can make based on the situation."

"No Mr. Grey. Thank you. I have no doubt that you will be able to take care of my company." Not your company anymore fucker but I'll let it slide.

"Thank you Mr. Onyewu. I have to go now. I'll have my assistant fax you back the signed documents right now."

"Yes. I appreciate that. Now I have another meeting. Thank you again and cheers to your impending success."

"Yes cheers. Goodbye Mr. Onyewu." I say as I click end on my phone. I did it. I've managed to get Onyewu to sign the fucking deal and hand me over his company all for way below market value.

"Riley, have Ros come to my office right now." I say to Riley my PA over the intercom. I need to share with Ros the news.

"Right away Mr. Grey." Yes Riley is a pretty good assistant. At first she was sorta bored and ditzy looking but once I asked her to raise her game or be fired, she has significantly improved. Plus she is actually showing what she's been capable of now instead of before when she would just sit around all day and surf the internet. She's getting a bit old though. She might not be able to handle the added work she will have to do once I complete the rest of my deals. I need to find a replacement eventually.

"Mr. Grey, Ms. Bailey is currently in a meeting. Shall I tell her to come to your office regardless or come after the meeting?"

"Tell her to come once the meeting is finished."

"Of course Mr. Grey."

I work on a couple more spreadsheets. I see that I really hit a gold mine here with Onyewu. What an idiot. He actually tried to make his staff work longer hours without added pay. Of course that caused a revolt and as a result, productivity declined and his company went in freefall. Luckily, I got to be first in line to pick up the pieces. I'm only a few thousand away from earning my first million but I've got bigger things planned. After 30 minutes, Ros enters my office.

"What is it Christian? Oh by the way I had a meeting with HR, they said UW called and that they've readied a conference room for you there already. You sure you want to do this?" Yes I know Ros. She had a few reservations about me going there but like I said I need to see what them in the school environment first before I bring them to work.

"Yes Ros, I'm sure." Plus I wouldn't mind seeing a glimpse of Anastasia again.

"Okay. Anyway what were you calling me up here for anyway?"

"I've called Onyewu. I've sealed it. I've also signed the documents and have sent them back to him already. It's official. I now own his company." I say and just like that Ros' face beams up.

"Holy Shit! That's great news Christian! How did you manage to convince him though?" Oh Ros. Do you not yet know that I can convince anyone to do what I want?

"I have a way with words." I say trying to be vague.

"Well I'll say. Again Christian. Holy Shit. This is huge!" That's not the only thing that's huge.

"Like I said when I first came here Ros. I'm going to make us go places." True. I've pretty much exceeded all expectations I had. I knew I would be successful but not this successful. Holy shit. I'm going to become a millionaire by the end of the month. Maybe I can find an apartment and a car now.

"True that Christian."

"Wait there's more." I say and she raises an eyebrow at me. "I've called my contact over at Nisler Comms and I've managed to get us a meeting next week. If all goes well, I'll be able to buy that as well within the month."

"Holy shit! If that happens you're going to be a millionaire in a month!" Like I said, I got this.

"I told you Ros. Not in a few months but a few weeks." I look at her and I think I've warranted the smug look on my face right now. I told her I would be a millionaire in a few weeks and not a few months and of course I will make it happen.

"Amazing. You're brilliant Christian. You know that right?" I laugh out loud at that.

"I get that a lot. By the way, after I finish that deal, be ready to launch Grey Enterprises" I say and this time it's Ros' turn to laugh.

"Yeah. I like the name. Grey Enterprises. Sounds catchy." Exactly what I thought. Simple and short but striking. Just like the Grey name. "Well I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing." She says before turning her back. Before she steps out the door though, she stops and turns and looks at me. There's something in her eyes.

"Oh Christian, Thanks again you know, for giving me a chance, keeping your promise and for making Malky proud." And with that she heads out. In truth I don't care about Malky but I guess he really meant something to Ros. I understand her though. Before I came in, she was really being wasted in the business world. Just because she was a woman and a lesbian meant she didn't get the respect and opportunities she deserved. That's just sad. We should never be judged by our outside appearance. I therefore promised her that I would treat her with the respect she deserved. Lucky for me, she's a loyal bitch as she's been just as instrumental to my company's success as I have been.

I'm left back on my own for a while. I'm really happy for Ros, proving all her detractors and all those who didn't believe in her. More so though is that I'm happy for me. If only that stupid pimp who kept beating me could see me now. He said I would never amount to nothing. I was just the son of a crack whore. That's why I would never succeed or amount to anything. Hah! I would love to see his face now that piece of shit.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts when I hear the intercom speaker act up.

"Mr. Grey there's someone here to see you though he doesn't have an appointment. He says he's your brother Elliot." Fucking Elliot. What does he want now?

"Is he tall and blond?" I ask. I do not need imposters coming up to me right now. Not that I ever need any imposters coming up to me.

"Yes."

"Okay send him in." I say and after a few seconds, my tall and very annoying brother comes in.

"Bro! What's up?" He says approaching my desk.

"What do you want Elliot?" I really don't have time for his antics right now.

"Just wanted to visit my brother here at work. I've never seen you work yet so I decided to check you out. Come to think of it, I think I'm the first family member that's come here right? By the way not the best looking building but hey it fits you perfectly. Dull and boring but clean looking."

"Fuck off Elliot. Shouldn't you be at work anyway?" He's annoying me right now.

"Took a day off. Had too much to drink last night. So what's up?"

"Nothing. Now if you have nothing else better to do, you can leave now." I motion for him to go to the door.

"Come on bro, I just got here."

"I don't care. Some of us here actually have to work so why don't you go find some chick to bang and leave after a few hours and go back to your construction site where you can go and try to build stuff rather than be here where people actually use their brain and think." I say. I look at him and he looks saddened. Shit that came out wrong.

"Is that really what you think of me bro? That I'm a worthless lowlife who does nothing but siphon off his family and his brother?" Fuck! He looks at me like he's actually going to cry.

"No Elliot of course not." Fuck how do I fix this?

"Nah you're right. I guess I'll be going. Sorry for wasting your time" He says and turns headed for the door. Elliot has always been the sensitive one. Even though he's big and playful, he does get emotional from time to time. Fuck! I stand up and grab his arm before he turns to leave and look him in the eyes. He looks really sad. Fuck I didn't mean it that way. I need to fix things.

"Look Elliot, I'm sorry I said all of those things. I didn't mean them, I just got really wound up okay and you know how I hate surprises. You know how much I hate not having control." Yes use that card you piece of shit brother. "I don't really think any of those." Fuck I hope he believes me.

"Really?" he asks.

"Yes really. I know you're a brilliant engineer and I admire the fact that you actually really care about the environment and try to make things as ecofriendly as possible. As for the women part, unfortunately, you are the love 'em and leave 'em type. Not that I'm saying that it's wrong or anything." I say and thankfully he laughs.

"Yeah. That is me."

"By the way, how about a tour of the building. If you're gonna be visiting here more often then you should at least know where you're going." I say trying to make things up and his face lights up. No doubt at the fact that I basically said to him to make himself comfortably anytime he visits here meaning visit whenever you want. Not sure I really want that but I'll roll with it for now.

"Sure bro. Lead the way." He says and we go out of my office and begin to tour the building. We start at the top offices and make our way to the patio where the top personnel aka Ros and I can take a break and smell the fresh air once in a while. We see Ros there and Elliot goes to her.

"Ros." I say and she turns around. "This is my brother Elliot. Elliot, my 2nd in command Ros." I say and they offer each other's hands. I fail to hide my disappointment though when I see in Ros' free hand a lit up cigarette. Ros sees my disdain and immediately scowls at me.

"What Christian? Do you want a whiff?" and with that she pulls the cigarette close to me and I panic. I immediately slap it out of her hand and step on it repeatedly.

"What the fuck Christian! What was that for?" She says to me but her face falls when she sees the panicked look on my face. "Fuck Christian what's wrong?" I stiffen up and stutter trying to think of words but instead Elliot speaks up.

"Uh please don't smoke or put any cigarettes near Christian. He's had a very horrid history with cigarettes." He says and I look at Ros whose eyes seem to widen in horror as she realizes what could have happened. Thanks a lot Elliot. I would normally be mad at him for saying what he said but I can't seem to get the words out.

"Let's get you inside bro." He says before dragging me on a couch inside and asking for a drink of water from Riley. He gives it to me and I drink it in one gulp. He then gives me a minute to calm down. Fuck when Ros drew that cigarette close to me, all I saw was that fucking pimp with his cigarettes coming to burn me again. I know Ros was never gonna do that but still fuck! Why must I have to be so messed up? I probably looked so weak in front of Ros. Not the boss she should see.

"Christian. You alright?" Elliot asks and after a minute, I nod and speak up. I'm okay. I'm Christian Grey. I don't do weak. Remember what you've learned Grey. Show no weakness.

"I'm fine Elliot. Let's continue the tour." I say and stand up. Composing myself and looking at Ros who looks concerned.

"I'm so sorry Christian. I hadn't realized…" and with that I cut her off. I don't need any reminders.

"It's alright Ros, just don't smoke around me again okay?" I say to her in a tone I normally don't say to her but fuck that was tough.

"Okay." She replies meekly. Did I scare her?

"You sure you're okay bro?" Elliot says looking at me all concerned and shit and I immediately get annoyed. I am not fucking weak!

"I told you I'm fine. Now let's get on with the tour." I say and move him to the stairs. Thankfully everything went well. We went down floor by floor and I introduced him to some of the staff and along the way made some impromptu supervising. The staff were of course surprised to see the boss strolling around but hey, they need to get used to some surprise inspections from time to time. Thankfully all operations seem good. I show him to all the departments. We stay a bit too long at PR though as of course Elliot has to go and flirt with most of the staff. I admit he looks good in his casual wear which he pretty much wears all the time. I quickly made him dismiss the idea though. No way would he fuck any of my staff. On our way down, I see the IT department and am reminded that I really need a new guy. Hopefully I find one at UW. We finally finish our tour and I head down to accompany him to the exit.

"Thanks for the tour bro. I really appreciate it." He says before slapping my shoulder. I know Elliot I'm not the brother you deserve but… I'm trying.

"No problem. I think you're right about the building though. When my company gets bigger I have to move. Maybe I could commission you to build the building for me." I say nonchalantly and his eyes get big.

"Really, but I don't even own my own company yet."

"Don't worry, I probably won't need to move till a couple more years which by then you should have quit your current job at the construction firm and have started your own." I say and he looks in shock.

"But I'm not even sure if I'll even have enough capital to start since it is pretty expensive to start our own construction firm you know with all the materials."

"I should be able to spot you some money in the future. I have to admit based on current projections, I'm just going to keep getting richer and richer." I say and he smiles a big smile.

"Are you even sure I'm capable of that?" And now it's my turn to curb the self-doubt.

"Look Elliot, I only seek the best for anything involving me and my company. I would never go to you if your work wasn't good enough, no offense. I' want to go to you because I know you're a brilliant man who will somehow be able to build a magnificent and ecologically sustainable building for me in the future." I say and he fully beams at me. It's nice to see that you made your family smile than make them frown all the time. Baby steps. Christian. Baby steps.

"Thanks bro and congrats. Maybe you'll finally be able to buy that yacht you always wanted instead of borrowing mom and dad's." He says and I laugh. It's true, I would always borrow my parent's yacht and sail it all the time when I had the time. It's just a hobby I developed when dad first taught me how to sail it when I was 16. I just love being on the water. It makes me feel calm and at peace, like I have no worries. Of course I plan to buy a bigger yacht than my parents'. I plan on buying a luxury yacht where guests could actually stay there, not like I'd ever have any guests but I guess I just want the option of having that space. Maybe I somehow get married with kids in the future along with gaining friends. Hah! Like that'll happen.

"Yeah. Anyway I'll see you at later back at the apartment?" I say just before he leaves.

"Yeah. See ya." He says and motions to go out but I call him one last time.

"Hey Elliot" I say and he turns around.

"You're a good brother you know that right?" I say and he looks shocked then he looks like he's gonna cry. Please fucking not. It's true though. I really appreciate everything he's done. We've shared some great memories and even though our relationship has been impeded by me most of the time, I appreciate that he has always had my back so why shouldn't I have his? After all, that's one of the things I admire most in a person. Their loyalty.

"You too bro. You too." He says before finally turning to leave with a huge grin on his face. Me a good brother? Like I said. I'm trying. And with that I head back to my office and continue to work on some spreadsheets.

/

After a while I head out for the day to go to UW and possibly get some future workers. I go to Ros and tell her I'm going to UW and she asks if she needs me to join. It'd be fine but I see that she's in a meeting so I tell her that it's okay and I proceed to head out.

After a short ride on the bus, I arrive at UW. It's a nice looking university. Not as big as Harvard but not bad. I make my way around the campus trying to find the right building. I didn't know they had Cherry Blossoms here, albeit the leaves have fallen off as winter is coming. I eventually make my way to the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering. Huh Paul Allen. Now that is one cheap fucker. I'd choose Gates over him any day.

I make my way inside and am immediately greeted by a man who introduces himself to be William Johnson who is one of the department heads of the college.

"Mr. Johnson. Pleasure to meet you." I say.

Mr. Grey, pleasure to meet you as well. I have to say, I'm very happy that you considered us to provide you one of our very best students in computers to help you with your company. After all we all know your company is one of the most promising up and coming companies in Seattle." Yeah Yeah stop being a suck up.

"Thank you Mr. Johnson. Now if you please, I'd like to meet the aspiring interns."

"Of course Mr. Grey" And with that he leads me to a room. Once inside, I see a bunch of computers around with several students working on them. Johnson introduces me and immediately the sucking up begins. They all show me their work and truth be told, it's the same if not worse than what my IT department already has. I know UW is heralded for being one of the best computer schools in the country but I'm disappointed with what I've seen. Don't get me wrong they're good but they all seem like suck ups and assholes. I'm just about to leave empty handed when at the corner of my eye I see someone who has not bothered to talk to me. He seems too engrossed in whatever he's doing on his computer while having some headphones on. I move closer and see that he seems to be working on some algorithm and I have to admit that is some advanced Math! I tap him on the shoulder and when he turns around I see him. He looks a bit older than the rest but I wouldn't care about that.

"Hello and you are?" I ask

"Barney Sullivan. You?" Was he not listening a while ago? Oh right the headphones.

"Christian Grey. Pleased to meet you." I say and offer my hand but he suddenly stands up revealing a hideous pair of clothes. What the fuck is that shit? You know what, if he's good then I don't care.

"Mr. Grey. I'm sorry. I was a bit too engrossed in my work. Please forgive me for not greeting you earlier." He says while shaking my hand enthusiastically.

"It's okay. Now if you don't mind though, please show me what you've got." I say and he goes off. What he knows about computers is completely out of this world. He is brilliant. I admit, what he can do would put my department into shame. There's also something about him though. Something I like.

"Mr. Sullivan, would you care to join me on a walk right now. I'd like to talk to you some more." I say and his eyes nearly pop out of his head. That's right kid, I choose you. He nods enthusiastically and he goes with me outside once I dismiss the rest of the room. We walk around and he tells me more about what he knows about computers. It is amazing what he knows. The fact that he was able to hack easily into the school's mainframe in a short amount of time is impressive to say the least. It apparently almost got him expelled though. I say if you can do that then why stay in the university anyway!

"Mr. Sullivan..." I say but he interrupts me.

"Please, call me Barney."

"Okay Barney. If you don't mind me asking, you seem to be a brilliant young man. Why stay in the university when it seems like you're more than capable to find work already. Also you seem to be a bit older than your peers. So I ask again why stay?" This confuses me. He is a genius so why does he feel to still study? Sorta like me. Well almost. Is he one of those people that feel he has to get a degree to find a job?

"To be honest Mr. Grey, I stay for my mother. She raised me and my cousin and his siblings all on our own since we were children and she's worked day and night to try and get us to finish school. It's what she's been doing her entire life so I think I ought to at least finish school so what she has done not go to waste." I guess he's like me then well except for some minor details.

"Why are you a bit older then?" I ask again.

"I had to stop school a few times in high school because I couldn't afford to go to school anymore. We were struggling and she didn't have enough to support us both so I had to stop for a while."

"I see. Well here's the thing Barney. I am utterly impressed with what you can do and just from now I can tell you could be a major asset to my company. I'll even go far to saying that you're good enough to head my IT department. Now I'm not forcing you too, but I can see that you've already learned all you can from the university. What I'm trying to say is I'd like you to work right now. Just drop out and work. I will give you a very promising salary along with benefits." I say and he looks shocked to say the least.

"Mr. Grey uh…" he replies and I know I've got him where I want him. Now time to go in for the kill.

"Look I understand. You want to honor your mother but let me tell you this, won't giving her the life she deserves as soon as possible be a better reward? I'm not forcing you but I'm hoping you join me Barney. For now go talk to your mother. Tell her of the situation and ask for her advice. Either way I would like for you to work at my company as soon as you're available. Please come visit me though next week. I would love for you to see what you can do." I say and as I say that I know I've sealed the deal. I give him an irresistible offer yet don't give him an ultimatum making him think he's still in control. He'll be mine in a week I guarantee it. He thinks about it for a while and then he speaks up.

"Thank you Mr. Grey. You're right that I should go talk to my mother and tell her what I want this time and that it could benefit my family better. Honestly I think she could seriously get sick still having to work at her age." This brings a smile to my face. "Also Mr. Grey, I would love to visit your office sometime. If you don't mind, may I bring my cousin? He's as good as me in computers but with the added benefit of him having connections in the government thus having extra contacts and privileges." Even better.

"What's his name?"

"Alistair Welch."

"Alright then Barney. Thank you for your time. I'll be eagerly waiting for you and your cousin to visit my office next week." And with that I offer him my contact details along with directions to my building. After that, I tell Ros of the situation and tell her that she should come along with me once we introduce Barney and his cousin to the fold. I finish my call and am about to head home when in the corner of my eye I see her. I see Anastasia. She's sitting on the other side of the fountain which I had no idea Barney and I had walked to already and she's looking at me with those big blue eyes. God they are beautiful. She is beautiful. Even in just a plain white shirt and skirt she looks gorgeous. I see her trying to hide her head as she just got caught staring at me. _Oh Ms. Steele didn't I tell I like to see you? _ I proceed then to walk around the fountain and go to her. Let the schmoozing begin.

Ana's POV

I sit down at the Drumheller fountain. I've just finished class for the day and decide to sit down for a moment. I take in the sights and sounds around me. The water flowing from the fountain, the birds chirping in the trees, the students chatting and the sun shining brightly. Well as bright as the sun can shine during fall. I look around some more and I'm shocked when I see him.

Christian is over at the other side of the fountain talking to some guy in a terrible looking outfit. They talk some more until Christian hands him a piece of paper and then when the terribly dressed guy leaves, he calls someone on his phone. Once he finishes his call, he looks around and sees me and smirks. Uh oh I think I was just caught staring. I immediately lower my head in embarrassment and try to cool down. Unfortunately a few moments later I feel someone raise my head up and I just know it's him.

I raise my head and see that it is Christian dressed in what I must say is business casual which of course looks absolutely gorgeous on him. I bet he looks good in anything he wears. He takes a seat next to me while still holding my chin and forcing me to face him.

"Ana this is the third time I've told you to not hide away from me. I told you I like to see you." He says sternly while looking at my eyes.

"I'm sorry." I say softly and he lets go of my chin. "What are you doing here?" I ask. Is he here for me? How did he find out where I was exactly going to be?

"Work. The guy you saw me with is a potential new employee at my company." Ah yes his company.

"Work again Christian? Didn't you tell me you woke up at 5:00 am? And you're still working? Unbelievable!" I say. I don't know how he does it. He must be a machine for being able to work at those hours almost daily.

"Well like I said I'm passionate about it. I want to be as successful as soon as possible and I will not let sleep hinder me from that. Plus it's not like I have anything else better to do." He says as he shrugs.

"But you could get sick! Do you not worry about your health Christian?" Seriously. I thought he would know better!

"I can handle it Ana. I promise. I've never been a heavy sleeper. Plus I can survive with just a few hours of sleep a day. If you don't believe me, ask my family. Thank you for your concern though." He says to me before smirking. And suddenly I have this urge to get to know him better. Before I ask him another question though, I spot a piece of dirt on his shirt. Again with the dirt on his shirt? I instinctively move my hands over his chest to try and remove it but he suddenly grabs my hand before it makes contact with his chest. He grabs my hand hard, making me wince.

"Ow!" I say while moving my hand away from him. What was that about?

"I'm sorry Ana but please don't touch me on my chest or upper back. They hurt due to this…accident I had." He says cautiously. Oh my poor Christian! I hope he isn't hurt too bad. I want to question him more but I decide against it. We stay quiet for a while before he breaks the silence.

"Want to have coffee outside?" he asks.

"Right now?" I reply.

"Yeah." Hmm. I did say I want to learn about more of him. And who am I to turn down this guy?

"Sure. Just let me text Kate I'm leaving early." I say to him before telling Kate that I'll be leaving early…with Christian. She instantly replies and tells me good luck but she expects details later whatever that means.

I stand up and get ready to go but he looks down at me in amusement. What? He seems to sense my annoyance though.

"I'm sorry but you just seem so tiny and cute." Oh he thinks I'm cute! And tiny. Tiny?

"Tiny?" I ask incredulously. I know I'm small but no one has actually said that to me before

"Yes tiny. And cute." He says before chuckling. Well I don't see what's funny here Grey.

"Well it's not my fault not everyone is a giant!" I manage to huff out which causes him to laugh even more. What?

"Not everyone is a giant Ana. You're just actually tiny." He says and before I know it, I stand up, look him in the eyes, stand up on the fountain and put my hands on my hips all in dramatic fashion. "Who's tiny now Grey? Oh yes, it's you!" I say even though I manage to be only a few more inches taller than him. With this he manages to laugh harder which in turn causes me to laugh as I realize how silly I am.

"You are so silly." He says before grabbing my hips to help me down. I grab his forearms and when he puts me down, he bops my nose. How sweet.

"I know. I'm sorry. By the way I prefer the term petite." I manage to say after all the laughing. Yeah petite sounds so much better.

"Okay petite then. Wait scratch that. How about I just call you cute all the time?" He says and I immediately blush.

"Thank you. I think you're cute too." Oh where has my filter gone again! I look up at him and see him smirking again at me_. You brought this on yourself Steele._

"Shall we?" He says as he offers his elbow to me which surprises me. I gladly take his elbow and we start to walk. Oh this feels nice. Just walking around with a gorgeous 21 year old genius man beside you. Suddenly I feel self-conscious. Christian looks good in what he's wearing right now though I have to admit he would probably look good in anything he wears while I look so plain my white shirt and jean ensemble. Not to my mention my big ass bag containing my books.

I'm not the only one who seems to think so though as I see many hungry gazes being thrown at him while many scowls being thrown at me. I suddenly feel a sense of urgency as I grip his arm tighter against me, trying to show off that he's going with me. _When did I suddenly act like a jealous girlfriend?_

Christian then just looks at me and smirks. I'm guessing he's read the situation and he tells me, "Jealous are we Ms. Steele?" and I just huff and ignore him which he responds to by laughing. Yes laughing. And unfortunately his laugh is so darn sexy, that it attracts all the women even more. Damn. Why does his laugh have to sound like a mating call to all the women around? I just grip him tighter until we finally leave the campus. Once we go out, I immediately explain my behavior to him.

"You saw all the women there! They were going to come after you. I just wanted to make sure not one of them would try to touch your chest." Nice excuse Steele. Way believable. I wonder if he'll actually fall for it. Why am suddenly acting like some jealous shrew?

"Well Thank you Ms. Steele. Maybe I should hire you as my personal bodyguard." He says and he wiggles his eyebrows at me and I can't help but giggle at his playfulness. I like this side of Christian. On the way there he calms down from laughing and we both just take in the sights. I can't believe I've never seen this area before but I do admit I don't get out often. I lean a bit more into his arm. I can't help it. I just love the feeling of being so near him. I know I'm acting silly but I can't help what's going on with me. It's as if I have no control over myself when I'm around him. I don't even realize that we've finally arrived at where he has taken us. A small chocolate and coffee shop named Fran's chocolates.

We go inside, I let go of his arm and I see that it is a beautiful place. It seems so modern but more importantly is that there is chocolate all around. I laugh when I see Christian basically drooling over all the chocolate around me. Looks like Mr. Grey has a sweet tooth.

"What?" he asks me looking perplexed at my giggling.

"Oh nothing. Just that it seems you really like chocolate." I say and he smiles at me. God it's so beautiful.

"Yes I do. It's my favorite. Anyway let's order. We go to the counter and are immediately greeted by a kind looking lady. I order the chocolate truffles with some tea while he gets some slated caramels with coffee. I'm surprised when Christian pays the bill in whole without asking me to split. How very gentlemanly of him. I try to argue with him but he was having none of it. If you say so. He then leads us to a table with our food and I immediately ask him about his family continuing the conversation we had a while ago.

"Well my father's a lawyer, mom's a doctor, brother's an engineer, my sister is in high school and then there's me. My siblings and I were adopted though." Oh wow. His family is full of overachievers.

"You know they say that the middle child usually becomes the best negotiator as he usually is the most lacking of attention from his siblings. Could explain your strong business acumen." I say and he laughs.

"Could be. What about you though?" He asks me.

"Well I'm an only child. My dad's a sort of carpenter/builder or whatever it's called while my mom has pretty much been bouncing around different careers at the moment. My mother's new husband though has a small business." I say. I can't but feel jealous of his seemingly perfect sounding family.

"So you're parents are separated?"

"Yes, when since I was 14."

"Was it tough growing up with separated parents? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well it wasn't the best but it's not like they fought each other all the time. They still had mutual respect for each other. They just lost that spark." I say and shrug. I recently found out they had apparently lost that spark a long time already before they got divorced. Ray just tried to keep things intact for my sake. God bless that man.

"I'm sorry." He says.

"Don't be. It's all in the past and it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway. How's your business?" I ask.

"Doing pretty well. Way better than I had expected at this time." I see that he's really passionate about his business.

"I certainly hope so with all the hours you put in." Again he puts in insane hours! I'm surprised he still has energy to go around all the time.

"Well how about you? How's school been?"

"Oh you know same old same old. I have a couple of papers due, books to read, the works."

"No extracurricular activities?"

"Well I do work part time at this appliance store near my apartment called Clayton's hardware from Mondays to Thursdays after school. I have also thought of joining this book club, I'm not sure though. Kate though has been heavily recruited to join this sorority. I'm not sure if she really wants to join though. She keeps pestering me to try and join as well but Lord knows I would never join anything like that." It's true. I would never fit in there. I'm too socially awkward. Plus I'm pretty content with my current college life. Kate's still on the bubble though.

"That makes two of us then." He says and I raise my eyebrow when I don't get it. "I was also pestered all the time to join in a fraternity. I never did though, I was too social awkward. Plus I was content with my life back then." He's sounding more and more like me every day.

"I guess it worked out for you then. Graduating top of your class and now owning your own business." I wish I could have that same level of success when I graduate.

"I guess so." And with that we start conversing about everything. He tells me all about his company at the moment and I tell him about how it's like living with Kate and growing up in Montesano. I was worried that I might have been boring him but I saw that he was genuinely interested in what I had to say. It's as if he was actually waiting for the next thing I would say. I admit it felt nice to be wanted. After talking some more, I realize that it's getting dark and that I should head home. With that we both stand up but not before I say something as we walk out and down the street.

"Thank you for today Christian. It was nice." I say. I honestly had a great time today.

"No problem Ana. I like hanging out with you." Yes that's what shocking.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"Why is what?"

"Why is it that you like to hang out with me? I mean I'm surprised you would want to be caught hanging out somewhere out in public with someone as plain and drab as me." I say and when I look up, he looks angry sort of.

"Anastasia, do not say those things about yourself. You are not drab or plain. Honestly you're one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen in my life. You just seem so real, I feel so alive with you." Oh my god he feels the same way I feel about him.

"I feel so alive with you too." I whisper to him and he shows me a small heartwarming smile which I return. I can't help but feel like this was a date. I wouldn't know as I've never really dated but I can't help but feel that this is what it would probably feel like. I'm about to turn to the side when I feel Christian yank me towards him. What was that about? And then I see that I had been absent mindedly walking without looking where I was going and I apparently was almost hit by a cyclist of all people! I realize then that I'm being hugged tightly against Christian as his arms just completely surround me. I look at his face and see all his beauty. I then look at his lips. Oh they are so soft looking and so kissable. I want to kiss him and I can feel the tension radiating between us. Why won't he kiss me then? I look at his face and there seems to be confusion written all over it. Kiss me Damn it!

He still seems to be in confusion or internal debate or whatever though. I look at his lips again then and again I can't help but feel but be mesmerized by them. I wonder what it feels like to feel them. And with that I bite my lip and after a few seconds, Christian faces me to look up and he kisses me. Oh wow. He kisses me with such intensity that I can't help but melt in his arms. I've never been kissed like this before. I wonder if he just slipped and his lips accidentally fell on mine. Oh who am I kidding I don't care what happened. I need to stop overthinking things all the time and just feel the moment.

His lips are so soft like I predicted. His lips expertly move around my own pair of lips as they gently massage mine. It feels like heaven just being here in his arms sharing this moment of intimacy I would have never thought I would have experienced with someone so beautiful. With someone I actually feel something for so fast. I let out a small moan and he uses that opportunity to give me a little tongue action.

Oh how his expert tongue moves around mine. It's as if he was trying to lick all of it. I cannot believe I like this. Who would have thought I would have been capable of this? I wouldn't have. Not in a million years yet even though I am so new to this, it feels so right. With him it feels so right. With him it feels like I was meant to do this. I wonder if he feels the same. I suddenly feel something poke my belly and when I looked down for a second, I saw that it was his…thing! It was poking at me and I have to admit, I got aroused by that kiss too. I can't but help feel a bit wet already thanks to him.

He breaks apart from the kiss and looks directly at me. His gray eyes looking at me with absolute desire and I would love nothing more than to kiss him some more but I unfortunately have to go home as Kate is probably there already.

"I'm sorry. I have to go." I say lamely. He looks at me confused before motioning for me to walk.

"What? It's almost dark. Can't just leave you behind like that all alone." He says and I agree so we walk to my apartment making as little noise as possible. Did things just get awkward? Did he suddenly regret kissing me? I sure hope not. We finally arrive at the front and I'm about to say goodbye when he pulls me in for yet another heart stopping kiss. _Oh how this feels heavenly. _This time, it's a kiss that says, I don't want to go but I have to but I would love to see you again soon. When he pulls away we are both left breathless again.

"Let me take you out again, okay?" he says to me. Or at least I think he did. I'm still a bit too dizzy from that kiss.

"Okay. Bye Christian." I say before kissing his cheek and turning to go but of course not before he pull me in for yet another steamy kiss. Oh a girl could get used to this. Kisses from Christian Grey are the absolute best. When he finally breaks away, I go to my unit already and pull out my key. Once I take it out, I put it in the lock and turn it. I open the door and see Kate sitting down on the sofa eating some Chinese takeout. I guess she couldn't bear to wait any longer for me to cook. Anyway I try to make my way to my room as quiet as possible but of course Kate notices me and just has to have 'details' or so she says.

"So how was it?" she asks leaning down at the sofa.

"It was wonderful. He took me to a chocolate café and we ate there and talked. He told all about him and I told him all about me." I smile remembering the day I had with Christian. Kate sees my reaction and gives me a huge smile as well. "He kissed me." I manage to mutter after a few seconds of grinning like a fool for no reason.

"What?" Kate suddenly perks up.

"He kissed me…multiple times." I say and my face reddens remembering to.

"Way to go Ana! Wow. How was it? I'm guessing it was good by the way you're grinning and blushing." Um, the best feeling ever?!

"Amazing. I have never felt this sort of connection with anyone. I'm going to see him again." I say and she smiles at me.

"Good for you Ana. If there's anyone who deserves happiness, it's you." I smile but inside I still do question what he wants with someone like me.

"I still can't believe I went out with him." I say.

"What do you mean?" Kate says with a confused look on her face. Is she that clueless?

"Well I can't believe that someone like him is going after someone like me. I mean with his looks and success, he could have any woman he wants yet he goes after the shy and timid college student. Don't you think I'm out of his league?" He just seems so perfect. I'm afraid this has all been a dream or a cruel prank set on me by the heavens.

"Ana how many do I have to tell you, you're a total babe. Guys are pining for you all the time. You just don't notice them because you've always been too busy being knee deep in books and I guess you just lack the boyfriend gene unlike me. But trust me, you can definitely land that cutie. Besides, the fact that he still seems interested in you even after he met me must tell you he's serious." Kate says trying to lighten the mood and I'm so happy to have a friend like her.

"Yeah. Lucky me." I manage to mutter.

"Seriously Ana." Kate suddenly says becoming all serious in her tone and straightening her body out while looking me directly in the eye. "He likes you. You like him. Go for it. What's the worst that could happen? At least he's not a stupid frat boy. He's more of your type. Sophisticated and a refined gentleman. Who doesn't want that kind of guy over some loud party goer? I'm just happy you've finally gotten interested in someone." Okay I'm not saying I have a type, after all, I've never really been interested in anyone before but based on tonight I have to say my type falls on only 3 things: Christian, Christian Grey and Christian Trevelyan Grey.

"Thank you Kate." Kate's right. Christian is a major catch and what do I have to lose?

"So tell me…does he have a brother?" Kate suddenly says obviously trying to lift the mood again. I just laugh and humor her by answering,

"Yes he has a brother who's an engineer that likes to build stuff and is a couple of years older than him."  
I say as Kate basically bounces up and down in glee. Although she's had plenty of guys in the past, she does seem to favor the older gentlemen who have already made it on their own.

"Oh perfect! So he likes to build stuff huh? He must have big hands then. Big hands for grabbing and yanking." Kate says while having a look on her face that suggests whatever she is thinking is something not suitable for children.

"Um Kate. Calm yourself okay?" I say to Kate who has all of a sudden become all hot and bothered. Jeez. She hasn't even seen him. For all she knows he could be not all she's thinking of. After all they were all adopted. You never know.

"Oh yeah. Sorry Steele. If you ever need tips about sex though, you know where to find me." And with that she goes back to her television program. I meanwhile turn beet red. I hadn't thought of that. Will I eventually want to do that with Christian? Probably. The pull we have is just too powerful to ignore. I wonder if he's expecting it soon though. I'm afraid I might not be good enough for him. What am I thinking? Like I said Ana. Stop over thinking all the time!

I soon wonder into my room and finish off some papers due for next week. After finishing them, I get ready for bed but not before I receive a late night text from Christian.

**Hey. –C**

**Hey. –A**

**How are you? –C**

**I'm fine. Happy. Thank you again for today. I had a great time -A**

**No** **problem.** **I** **had** **a** **great** **time** **too**. **I** **miss** **you** **already**. **:) –C**. Oh he misses me already? How sweet.

**Me** **too**. **I** **did** **happen** **to** **enjoy** **those** **kisses** **of** **yours** **;)** **–A.** When did I become so bold? I must be rubbing off of Kate.

**I very much enjoyed them too. –C. **I'm glad he did. I would be disappointed if I found out he didn't like it or if he said I kissed like a sheep or something.

**Good.** **Kate** **wants** **to** **meet** **your** **brother** **by** **the** **way**. **–A**

**I don't think that's a good idea. My brother is sort of a player. Fair warning. –C**

**Don't worry, Kate can handle herself. –A**

**Let's just leave that to chance. –C**

**Yeah**. **I** **really** **like** **you** **Christian**. **–A**. He doesn't respond after a while. Maybe he dozed off. I finally finish up getting ready for bed when I receive one last text for the night.

**Good** **night** **Ana**. **Sweet** **dreams** **baby**. **–C**. Oh he called me baby. Surprisingly, I like it. It's so endearing.

**Good night. –A. **

**A/N.**

**Well that chapter sure had a lot going on. We see here that both of them have this sense of attraction already. Have to say Thank you once again for all the support you guys give.**

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	7. Be Mine

**Warning: Too much fluff than necessary in this chapter. Hey I was in a romantic mood when I was writing. **

**Christian's POV**

***YAWN***

I actually yawned. Yes yawned. I haven't yawned in a long time. Like I said I don't really have time for sleep but unfortunately the human body needs sleep therefore I am always forced to take a break from all the work I go through the entire day. Curse the universe for having to make my body human. Why couldn't I have been a sort of super human being where I wouldn't need sleep at all? That way I can just continue to expand my already fast growing company without any other hindrance. They say that by 2055 you can put your brain in a robot already thus becoming a cyborg. Maybe I should consider that or perhaps I should put myself in some sort of cryogenic sleep to preserve myself for the future. Seriously having to sleep is a pain.

Anyway I decide to check the time and see that it's 2:30am already. Huh I've been up for 21.5 hours already since I last took a nap. That means I've only gotten like 28 hours of sleep this week. Wow. I seriously have never been tired before. Even in high school I would sometimes go on some really late sessions with Elena through the night and sneak in my house afterwards and I still wouldn't feel tired. People are right. I am a machine. I'm more of a machine than they know though meaning I am cool, calm and efficient but heartless. I'm cool with that. Seriously though. I have never really felt tired until now.

Maybe this yawn is the buildup of 4 years of high school and 4 years of college all rolled in one. If it is then I sure am lucky. I think of what I have done throughout the day which happened to be great. First I had a jog where I realized it would become a daily thing for me. After that I went to work but not before being accosted by some old lady in the bus. I really hope she wasn't hitting on me. That would have just been weird. After that I managed to acquire Onyewu's company for a significantly low price compared to what it could have sold for. That should show that arrogant fucker that if you don't treat your staff well then prepare to suffer. Seriously don't they teach that at business school? Anyway after that I had that almost tiff with Elliot which I managed to fix by offering him a tour and giving him some kind words. I think he needed that. A bit of brotherly bonding or so he says. Maybe I could actually invite him for a hike or something next week or whenever this hectic period of my schedule is finished. After all, I am in the homestretch of my current goal of becoming a millionaire. Only a few more weeks.

In between my tiff with Elliot and giving him a tour was an almost accident with Ros. Ros held a lit cigarette so close to my chest I thought I would have almost passed out. I must ensure that no one else smokes inside the building's premises. No one else can find out about my secrets. The part I hate about what happened yesterday with Ros was the fact that she actually saw me weak. Fuck! I hate that she had to see that. She must think I'm some weak pansy now. Well if that's what she thinks then she has a long way coming.

I soon departed for UW where I met the computer genius, Barney Sullivan. I was really lucky he was still there. No doubt he should have been working for some major company like Microsoft or something already but hey I am definitely not complaining. He and his cousin are coming by next week and I can hardly wait. I'm sure I need them to improve and tighten up my network's security and to provide me with my own personal services. That is when they say yes_. They might say no you know._ I know but that'll never happen. I'm pretty sure I was able to charm the pants out of Barney a while ago. That again is one of my talents. I can just seemingly be able to charm my way into getting anything I want. Just another reason my brain should be preserved. I doubt anyone else has this capability but me.

The last agenda of my day a while ago was the surprise meeting with the lovely Anastasia. I was not expecting her there. I mean it was her school and all but who would have thought we would have actually crossed paths? Was this some message by the fates? Maybe. It's not like I believe in that superstition or destiny mumbo jumbo.

Anyway I asked her for coffee which she agreed to but not before this very funny act of her complaining that I called her tiny. Well it was the truth but I guess I could have worded it better. She looked so cute when she actually stood on the side of the fountain thereby making herself 'taller' than me. I just wanted to kiss her all over. _What the fuck? What is wrong with me? _I also saw many sides to Anastasia yesterday. I saw the side of her that was completely shy and closed off. She just cannot see how attractive she is. When we were walking inside the campus she got pretty jealous at all the stares I was getting. Does she not realize she was way more beautiful than any of the girls that were there anyway? I need to make her see the truth. I hate that she thinks so little of herself. _Remind you of someone Grey?_ Shut the fuck up.

It's amazing how kind and sweet she is despite telling me about her not so stellar childhood. I mean it's not as bad as mine, nothing I think could be worse than mine but still. The fact that she had to move around all the time and the fact that her mother would constantly remarry and pursue new ventures must have took its toll on her. I'm surprised she doesn't seem to have commitment issues or so. I also found out about the man she considers her father as a guy named Ray Steele. I admire a guy like that. Loving a child that isn't theirs biologically with all their heart. It reminds me of Grace and Carrick. I should really go to Sunday lunch at my parent's house. God knows I need to see my mother's smile again.

Anyway by the end of our little talk when we went out of the café, I realized that I actually like talking to her. I realized that I want to talk to her some more. She really needs to watch where she's going though as she was almost hit by a cyclist for fuck's sake. Lucky for her I was able to save her. After that though was when things started to become weird.

With the amount of force I used to grab her, I managed to pull her into my chest. Surprisingly when her head and torso were against it, it didn't hurt. I guess only hands manage to cause me some sort of discomfort. Oh yes this is a breakthrough. I'll be able to have significantly better vanilla sex with someone now. Or was it only because it was Anastasia? Anyway after that she started looking at me with those big blue eyes of hers. I admit I got put under that spell of hers then and there. The feeling of her in my arms while I stared into her eyes was one of the most unknown yet surprisingly welcome feelings I have ever experienced. It just felt right. What's more surprising is what happened next.

She then started to look at me with that "Kiss me. Kiss me Christian!" look. I admittedly got confused there. I wanted to. I felt the air around us change at that moment and the animalistic desires of mine settled in but I was fighting it. I couldn't possibly lead her on like that. Unfortunately when she bit that lip I became a goner. I fucking go crazy when she bites that lip of hers. I soon pounced on her mouth and I admit I was glad I did. It was the best fucking kiss I had. Not that I had a lot of kisses. I never really kissed any other girl except for that random times when the girl you were in bed with would suddenly lunge at your mouth. I of course would oblige but only for a second to make it seem like I wasn't completely avoiding it. I just don't like kissing others. It seems too personal yet with Anastasia, I seriously wanted too.

I just seem to lose all control when I'm around her and now I crave even more of her kisses. Her lips are just so fucking soft. I must have more of her. After I took her back to her apartment, I luckily got affirmation from her allowing me to be able to take her out again. I know I'm good at the sex part but I'm not sure how to schmooze someone like Anastasia. I just have a feeling that she might not fall for all of my tricks. Maybe that's what made me tired. All of that talking and getting to know Anastasia. I have to admit I was very much interested in what she had to say but it's something I haven't really done before, just a normal free flowing conversation with someone. I wanted to know what made her tick and I still do. And I fully intend on finding out.

I finally go to bed and try to dream of Anastasia and those soft lips of hers. Those soft lips over my hard throbbing cock. One way or another I will make that dream reality soon.

/

I wake up and stretch in bed for a bit. Huh. Why does it seem to be a bit brighter than usual? I surprisingly had no nightmares last night. God know Elliot needed the break. Every member of my immediate family knows I have nightmares. They're usually the same. I get a front row third person view of the crack whore's pimp beating me with a stick, kicking me in the ribs, spitting on me and putting out his lit cigarettes on my chest. The worst part is that while I watch, I feel the pain. Talk about a double whammy. Yet another reason I need to get an apartment soon. I can't subject Elliot through my night piercing screams any longer. He says its okay and that he understands but he's just being polite and a good brother. Anyway I surprisingly had no nightmares and instead had a very nice dream where I was getting a very nice blowjob from Ana and trust me it was amazing.

I check the clock and see that it's already 9:00 am so I start to prepare the clothes I need for my run. Wait. 9:00 am! Fuck! I overslept. I can't believe I overslept. I check why the alarm clock didn't sound and I see that I apparently forgot to turn it on. Motherfucker I can't believe I forgot. What is wrong with me? Admittedly, it was a very nice nap, I couldn't afford that. Still, I can't believe my own body didn't wake up at that time. I just thought that my natural circadian rhythm had already adapted to having only 3 hours of sleep and waking up at 5:00am. Further proof that Ana has managed to put me under her spell. Damn that fuckable mouth.

I immediately take a shower and get dressed in record time. I don't have time to see what suit I put on but I've managed to notice that I did put on a black suit with a black tie with white diagonal lines No time for extra grooming now. I grab all my necessities and head out the door of the apartment and see that Elliot has indeed left already. _I wonder why he didn't notice more._

While on the bus on the way to work, no one seems to sit next to me this time. Thank God. _Probably because everyone's probably already gone into the office already. Fuck! _On my way I check my phone and see 3 new messages all from Anastasia. This is all your fault with your too pretty mouth!

**Good morning X. –A**

**Hello? –A**

**Are you okay? Please reply. –A.** Oh how I love that she's worried about me.

**Hi there. Sorry I've only replied now. I woke up late and am on the way to work right now as we speak. –C**

I don't get a reply for a while and I admit it annoys me. Where is she? It's a Saturday after all. Does she have somewhere to be? A fucking date? Fuck! No. I refuse to think about that. I get off the bus and get to work. I'm glad to see everyone is still working hard despite me being late. _Maybe because it's the fact that you're the boss and they just don't want you to see. _Yeah well I still get results so I guess everything is good. I get off the elevator to my office and immediately see Riley. She's a brunette but she's old anyway plus I only have eyes right now for one brunette and that girl is currently in class.

"Mr. Grey. Good morning. Can I get you some coffee?" she asks being ever so polite.

"No thank you. Any messages or calls?" Fuck I hope I didn't miss anything important.

"A Mr. Nisler from Nisler Comms did call to tell you about the details of the meeting but since you weren't here yet I simply took his contact information for you to get when you come." Efficient as ever Riley.

"Thank you. Anymore?" I ask after getting the contact details from her.

"None Sir."

"Alright thank you." And with that I head into my office.

Once I get settled I immediately call back Nisler who happens to answer on the 4th ring.

"Wesley Nisler." He says in a curt tone. He uses the same tone and method I use when answering my phone except that I only say my last name. It's too long to say 'Christian Grey' so I just say 'Grey'.

"Mr. Nisler. Christian Grey here. Sorry for not being around a while ago. Something of the utmost importance came up." Yeah. You were too busy dreaming about your Anastasia's mouth all over your cock.

"Mr. Grey. No problem at all. I hope whatever situation you have had has been settled." Not yet but soon enough.

"Yes Mr. Nisler it has. Now with regards to the meeting."

"Yes would Wednesday at 12:00am work for you?"

"Excuse me for a moment Mr. Nisler." I say before I push the intercom button to Riley.

"Riley what's my schedule for Wednesday at 10:00am?"

"All free sir. Although you do have a meeting with the department heads at 12:00nn."

"Push that meeting to 3:00pm. Tell the other heads to attend no matter what." I say. I need enough to properly acquire Nisler Comms. Acquiring that company will put me over the top and officially earn me my first million. Well maybe a few more million than 1 but the point is I need to have a meeting with all the heads to properly strategize what we will be doing from then on. I also plan on officially launching Grey Enterprises.

"Mr. Nisler. Sorry for the delay. Yes I think 10:00am on Wednesday would be a good time."

"Alright Mr. Grey. We'll be expecting you then."

"Goodbye Mr. Nisler." And with that I hang up. A week. A week left before I officially become an owner of his fucking company and finally prove all my doubters wrong aka that fucking pimp and those kids that fucking made fun of me in middle school and high school. I also can't wait to finally be able to buy the things that I want. Next on my agenda after launching Grey Enterprises is to get a car and an apartment then a glider's license. All this business is getting into my head and I fucking love it! It's good to be so powerful and in control over many things.

I sit down feeling very satisfied of myself and after a sorting out a few papers, I receive a text and look who finally replied.

**Hah! Serves you right. I told you you needed rest. This is the universe's sign of saying I was right :P** –**A.** Oh Ana you are going to pay for your smart mouth.

**No. I just forgot to turn on the alarm clock.** –C

**Stop trying to convince yourself. Just admit I'm right**. –A. Oh Ana you will never win this game.

**It was a onetime fluke. I seriously did forget to turn on the alarm clock.** –C

**Suit yourself Grey. You aren't going to get any more food or kisses from me any time soon though if you don't admit you were wrong. I believe you when you said you forgot to turn the alarm clock on but why did you forget? Because of tiredness. –A.** Oh for fuck's sake. Fine. I do need those kisses but more importantly, I need that food. That woman can seriously cook!

**Fine. The sleep was admittedly good. Though it did cause me to be late for work. You were right. – C.** I hate fucking losing but unfortunately she has me cornered. I hate that she has this sort of hold over me. I should sue her for this. No one can resist Ana's food or kisses. She is being very neglectful.

**See? Was that so hard? Now since you admitted that I was right, I believe you deserve a reward. If you swing by later, I think I'm making some pasta. You can bring them to your apartment. Plus I wouldn't mind having another one of those goodbye kisses ;) . **–A. Now this is why I admitted I was wrong. Yes please!

**Now you're talking. Count me in. – C. I say and she doesn't reply immediately.**

**I miss you already Christian.** –A.

**I miss you too baby. –C.** I find that I like calling her baby. It just seems right. Plus she didn't complain when I called her that last night so I guess its okay to call her that. I don't receive a text but instead I receive call from her. I immediately pick up on the first ring.

"Hello? Baby. Is anything wrong?" Why did she call? Is she in trouble?

"No Christian. I just… I…" What baby what?

"What is it baby?" Please tell me.

"I just missed your voice." Oh Thank God she's not in trouble. I thought I had told her that a while ago already.

"I told you I miss you too." More than you know baby. More than you know.

"I really like you Christian." Fuck! Now this is what I was worried about. When she texted me that last night, I spent a few minutes trying to decipher what she meant by that. I assume it's a sincere term of endearment from her but I can't help but feel that it's too personal. Do I tell her the truth? Fuck. What if I mess things up? Fuck this. I know she expects me to answer back since she asked me this again after asking me last night. Sigh. I guess I have to tell her the truth no matter how much it's scary or wrong. She deserves that at least.

"I really like you too Ana. I haven't stopped thinking about you since the day I first saw you in the apartment." I admit. The line immediately becomes eerily quiet. Fuck! I knew I said the wrong thing! Just when I'm about to apologize I hear her voice.

"Really?" She asks with an incredulous tone to her. Oh Ana if you only knew.

"Yes Ana. I'll have you know I even dreamed of you last night." Well I might as well be completely tell her it since it'll probably be the last time I hear from her. Fuck! Why did I have to ruin this? I of course don't tell her I dreamt of her giving head. I have a feeling that would just leave her mad.

"Oh Christian. Sorry I have to go. I'm at the library trying to do a project. Remember to pick up your food and kisses later. Mwah. Mwah. Bye." And with that she dismisses me but not before leaving me some sweet kisses. Well I certainly didn't expect that. Huh Maybe I do got this. I cannot wait for the day to finish.

/

It's Sunday morning and I have just woken up. It's been a day since I told her that I liked her. I was definitely not expecting the reaction she had. Well I did tell her the truth or at least what I thought was true. I mean I do like her very much. It's just that we might have different views on how we define 'like'. By like, I meant I liked her character and her as a person. I also meant I found her very attractive. I hope that's what she meant too.

When I went to Ana's place after work yesterday, I was immediately greeted by her jumping into my arms and kissing me with such tenderness. I don't what I did to deserve it but hey I wasn't going to start complaining. Her lips were as soft as cotton and her skin was as silky as…silk. And when she gave me that pout, Holy Fuck! After that introductory kiss, she let me in and gave me my food. We of course talked a bit more. I got to know more about her. I just repeated that mantra in my head: 'Know what makes them tick'. I find out that she indeed turned down the sorority's offer but Kate did accept. Thank God she relented. I know what goes on in sororities and I can't say I would be happy that she might parade around in some provocative clothing or that she might get drunk at some parties or get forced to do things she doesn't want to do.

I wonder how this might affect her relationship with Kate. She told me that Kate said they would still be best friends but I know how time consuming those organizations could be. Ana herself is a shy and delicate spirit. I don't want her to be left alone. I know what it's like to be alone and neglected. I'll be damned if I let that happen to Ana. I guess I'll have to check up on her all the time. Yeah checkup.

After talking a bit more, I picked up the extra pasta she made for dinner and took it home. Of course not before I picked up some kisses. God that woman can kiss. I just can't seem to get enough. I also love this thing that when we kiss, there seems to be this electric feeling that courses between us. I asked her about it and she said that she felt it too but wasn't sure what is was. Maybe I've been hanging around the power plant way too much. All I know is that that feeling makes me even want her even more. After a few more minutes of kissing, I eventually leave. My plan on schmoozing her is still definitely working. I find myself forgetting to try and make her my sub though. I just find that I really like her company. She's very smart, sweet and we just connect. I wish I had this type of relationship with more people.

When I arrived home, of course Elliot came onto me like a rash. He kept trying to steal some of my food and since I did promise myself to try and become a better brother, I gave him some. Of course Anastasia's cooking was delicious. She definitely passes the cooking aspect of any potential submissive of mine. Do I even still want her to be my submissive? I'll leave this question open for debate. He again kept asking who was this friend of mine who I managed to get food from, I of course just told him to go fuck himself and that he shouldn't expect food like this all the time. It would be rude of me to keep asking Ana for food. Of course if she offered it, who was I to reject it. I spent that night telling Anastasia how much of her food was good and of course she blushed. Why can't she just take a compliment? Of course I didn't see her as I only texted her it but I just knew she blushed. I just had this feeling. Weird.

Anyway I dress in some casual clothes since I will be heading over to my parent's house today as I feel like visiting them, after work of course. I'm going to work first as I really want to wrap up some small deals I've been working on. Of course everyone says I'm crazy to go to work. Call it crazy, I call it passionate.

Once I get to work I immediately get down to business. There aren't a lot of people here, understandably as it's a Sunday but I still manage to come here every day. I need to come here. I need to be able to see what I've worked hard for all this time. I need to see that I am indeed capable of great things and that I am not as worthless as the pimp says I was. I need to be able to see that I have made it this far and I don't plan on going back anytime soon.

I finish whatever I can finish for the day and leave for my parent's house. I arrive at about 1:00pm over there. I walk up to the door and ring the bell. After a few seconds, my mother opens the door. Even after 17 years, she is still an angel.

"Christian. Finally you've made it. I almost thought you weren't going to come." She says before giving me a kiss on the cheek. Yes she and everyone else still can't touch me. I'm hopeless.

"Of course Mom. I missed you and Dad and Mia." I say kissing her cheek in reply. Hopefully me actually going here will be able to somewhat lessen the sting of them not being able to touch me. After kissing her, I am let inside and I immediately see Dad, Mia and Elliot all sitting at the sofa looking like they're involved in some sort of discussion.

"I told you dad, solar powered buildings are one of the most up and coming things that will come regarding the construction business." I hear Elliot say as I make my way towards them. They still haven't seen me yet.

"Christian!" Mia is the first to notice me as she then stands up and lunges at me. She of course knows the boundaries: She sticks to my forearms and shoulders. She's the only one that has ever gotten this close to me.

Elliot then stands up my hand and shakes my hand along with dad.

"Glad you could finally make it Christian. Now that you're here, let's go to the dining room. I'm famished." Dad says and we all head towards there. My dad sits at his regular position at the head of the table while I go sit at his right. My mom sits at his left with Mia beside her while Elliot meanwhile is beside me. My dad rings a bell and then Gretchen finally brings out the food. She sets the down the plates and the utensils. She hands us all the silverware and I don't miss the fact that she brushed her arm against mine trying to get me to react. Yeah nothing there sister.

She then goes back and proceeds to bring out the food. I see that its butter poached lobster. Thank God an actual meal. I look at Elliot and he's thinking the same things. I know brother, I need to come here more often. Gretchen then proceeds to set it down and give us all individual cups of butter along with all the butter already on the lobster... Of course she lingers a bit too long pouring me butter on my saucer. I see she 'accidentally' spills some of the sauce on her hands.

"Oops." She says before sucking the butter off of her fingers in a seductive manner looking at me. For fuck's sake. "Is there anything else I can get you?" She asks all of us but looks at only me. Damn she is annoying. Thankfully dad responds.

"That'll be all Gretchen." He says and Gretchen reluctantly turns back to the kitchen but not before purposely giving me a sort of wave and she walks off with a little sway on her hips. Motherfucker! I look at Elliot who is sporting a grin as large as the Cheshire Cat. For fuck's sake. With that we proceed to eat and have a normal family discussion just like the old days before I got influenced by Elena.

"So Christian, how's the business." Dad asks, expecting a full report every time I go here. Of course he just wants to hear his son doing well but I can't help but feel it's also to help fuel his ego. I can't help but humor him as I know it really hurt him and mom that they weren't able to help me get out of my shell. Might as well try and make them proud.

"Everything is going well. I'm currently working on this deal that if it goes through, I'll be able to significantly expand my portfolio and grab a firm foothold into the not only the telecommunications but also the whole business world." I say and he beams up.

"Excellent work son." He says but I keep on going.

"By the end of the month, I should have already launched Grey Enterprises Holdings or GEH as I plan to call it."

"Oooh I love that name Christian! It sounds so catchy and businessy." Mia says. Of course it does.

"I have to admit it does sound good." I reply.

"Congratulations son." Mom says and I see obvious pride in her eyes. Pride regarding the fact that her son has managed to do so well for himself despite all of he has been through.

"Well Well I have to admit Christian that does have a ring to it. 'Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings'." Elliot says and I have to admit that sounds amazing. It sounds like I'm this big hotshot guy who has tons of people working for him and has tons of money and power to boot. I fucking love this feeling of power and success getting in my head.

"Thank you. By the way mom this lobster is very good. I'm glad we're getting to eat this again after not eating this for a while." I say.

"Yes well I just happened to be in the mood for lobster for today so I decided on that." Mom replies.

"What about you Elliot? How's work?" Dad asks. Yes we mustn't forget Elliot.

"It's all good. I do plan on continuing on setting up my own construction company though in like a year.

"Do you have enough capital?" Dad asks. I wonder if he would finally lend Elliot some money after the surfing incident.

"Not yet but I'm working on it. Plus Christian said he'd spot me some money once I'm finally ready." He says nonchalantly and proceeds to drink some water. Dad and Mom's eyes meanwhile widen probably at the fact that I said I would spot him some money.

"Christian do you know how much it costs to start up a construction business? Do you even have enough money to lend Elliot?" Mom asks. Of course I know how much it costs but I don't have enough money to spot Elliot now but I will have enough money eventually. Again like I said. I'll be a millionaire by the end of the month and a billionaire by the time I'm 24 and if I say those things, you can bet your ass I'll be making those happen.

"I know how much it costs. I don't have enough money right now but based on the figures I've been seeing, I should have enough to give Elliot in about a year." My parents all look shocked at the seemingly large amount of money I could have in a short amount of fine.

"Wow. I didn't know you were that successful son. Congratulations." Dad says still seemingly in shock. I know Dad I'm surprised too but hey, I just happen to have the Midas' touch.

"Thank you Dad. I have to say I'm quite surprised but happy at the same time with my company's very rapid growth rate."

"Oh Christian you have to take me shopping soon then! It's almost winter and all the winter collections of all the top companies will be out soon." Yes that's my sister. The little fashionista whirlwind. She keeps going to school in all these designer clothes and bags. I wonder if she would want to be a designer in the future. God knows I'll probably take her on that shopping trip. She just has this hold on me. I just can't say no to my little sister. I've only been never been able to say no to 2 people, my mother Grace and my sister, Mia. I think I might have to add another one to that list though I leave that for another time.

"Sure Mia."

"Good I can hardly wait to tell my friends. They will be so jealous, especially Lily!" Oh don't remind me of her.

And with that we converse a bit more. It's nice just being here with my family. Even without the benefit of food, I would still go here just to feel this connection with my family. God I love these guys.

"Christian tell me it isn't true!" Mom suddenly says to me. What?

"What?" I ask. I must have zoned out a bit.

"Is it true that you've been barely sleeping at all due to you always working on your business?" she asks. How did she find out?

"Oh don't give me that look Christian. I'm glad you're brother here told me." Fucking Elliot. I look to him and he looks like nothing happened. Fucker.

"Well?" Mom asks. Well how do I say I am in a way that sounds okay to her?

"Well, that is somewhat true. All I can say is that I've been completely dedicated to my business lately and have avoided any sort of vices that could possibly hinder my work." I reply. Mom does not look pleased.

"I'm glad Christian but you need to take care of yourself more! Every person needs their sleep." Mom says.

"Yah Christian. If you don't sleep you could get wrinkles." Mia asks. I just roll my eyes at that. Of course that's what Mia is concerned about. Hah! I doubt I would get wrinkles. Christian Grey does not get wrinkles if I do say so myself.

"Okay Mom. I promise." I say to placate them. Geez they're all sounding like Ana. Sigh. I miss her already.

"Also Elliot tells me he's already been to your office. You must take us all on a tour soon." Dad says. I just nod and proceed to take another bite of lobster.

We eat a bit more and I hear all about how Mia almost got detention by being refusing to participate in her class dodge ball activity while pointing out to the female gym teacher that her outfit was totally ugly. I have to admit you almost never mix green with pink and orange but still, another rule of business that applies in real life is to never cross your superiors.

After a while, I proceed to go to the dock and take my dad's yacht out for a ride. Just as I'm about to set sail, Elliot joins me.

"Hey bro! Wait up." He says and I wait for him to come aboard before setting sail. We take turns sailing around the small lake beside our house.

"So bro, how are things?" Elliot starts.

"Fine." I reply and things become quiet after all we just pretty much said all that we had to discuss inside during lunch already. I settle us at the very middle and proceed to go out to the port and just enjoy the view of the lake. It's moments like this when I just want to think and think until I can find some answers because this environment has to be one of the most conducive ones for thinking. The backdrop is just beautiful and who doesn't think staring into the sunset on a boat isn't relaxing? I'm interrupted from my thoughts when I receive a text from Ana.

**Hi there. –A**

**Hey. –A**

**What are you doing right now? –A. **

**Why? – C.** What does Ms. Steele have planned?

**Just humor me. – A**. Hmmmmm.

**I'm on my parent's yacht enjoying the sunset with my brother. –C**

**Of course you are. Anyway if you won't be busy later, you can stop by my apartment for dinner. Kate will be out and I'll be all alone. –A**. My dick automatically stands up at that_. Oh Ms. Steele. I like the way you think_. I'll finally be able to feel all of Ana.

**Sure. –C**

**Great. I'll see you later. Bye X –A**

**Bye –C. Huh. I did not expect that. **

"So Bro, what's got you grinning like that?" Elliot asks and I'm immediately pulled out of my thoughts. I didn't even realize I was grinning. Fuck. He cannot find out about Ana.

"Nothing."

"Come on bro. Just tell me what's got the usually stoic Christian Grey grinning like a kid stuck in a toy store." Fine.

"Business. I just managed to secure the meeting I need to put me through to the next level." I lie.

"That's great bro." he says before patting me on the soldier. We stay quiet for a while until I realize I really need to ask something. I just hope he doesn't pick up in things.

"Hey Elliot." I call out. He looks immediately at me.

"What's up?" Fuck this is hard.

"Um. I have a question." He raises an eyebrow and nods telling me to proceed. I need to use my words carefully here in order to not give out the wrong idea.

"What do you do when someone tells you something completely unexpected and you're not sure what to say?"

"What do you mean?" Oh for fuck's sake. Can't he just read my mind or something rather than me having to voice this out?

"I mean what do you do when a person tells you they enjoy your company and the truth is you also enjoy theirs but you're not sure what to do next because you've never really enjoyed anyone else's company before." I managed to get out. Fuck that was still pretty vague.

"Could you mind explaining so I can properly respond?" he says. Fuck.

"Well there's this person and they told me that they really enjoy the work I do and I also happen to enjoy the work they do but I don't want to admit it because I've never really enjoyed anyone else's work before and I'm afraid I might mess up our business relationship due to my lack of experience." I think that's a good cover-up for my situation with Ana. The truth is I don't even know what I want from her anymore. All I know is I'll take her anyway I can right now. Although my natural inclination is to still try and schmooze her so she can eventually become my submissive, I'm not sure what to do or to expect anymore. I look at Elliot who seems to be in thought so I look out to the sunset. After a while, Elliot finally responds.

"Well here's my take brother. You say you enjoy that other person's work and they enjoy yours but you're confused because you didn't think you would enjoy it that much and now you're not sure what to do because you've never been in that situation and you're afraid that with your inexperience, you could lose the deal..." He says and looks at me. I just nod. "Well what I would do is to just keep on negotiating with that person so I can get the best thing I can get without worrying about my 'inexperience'. I would just go with the flow and enjoy the moment. As to your inexperience in whatever field that person is in, you should ask them to help you. Everyone needs some help once in a while Christian." He says. I'm still a bit skeptic though. What if I mess things up and she never talks to me again? I've come enjoy Ana's company so much. Elliot notices the look on my face and says another thing to me.

"Well Christian here's the thing. You don't want to lose this business opportunity right?" I nod. "Well then pursue it with all your power but at the same time, just enjoy that person's service as well. Who says you can't work on both at the same time. Look Christian, you're a smart businessman but you don't know everything. Just enjoy what you have now while learning at the same time. The key is to never stop trying. If that person see's the effort you're putting in to adjust so they can have a better deal as well then they'll be happy to help you out." Hmm. I didn't really get it but hey I guess I could try what he mentioned. I thank him and he nods his head. Like I'm said. I'm trying.

With that, we head back to the dock and I proceed to say goodbye to my family as I then set course for Ana's apartment. Oh God Ana said she's all alone tonight and wants me to come around to provide her 'company'_. Insatiable little sex kitten. _I can hardly wait. Anastasia is so innocent but I bet she has this whole side of her, this animalistic carnal side of her just waiting to be unleashed. Oh Boy. I could sense it from her. I hope I can keep up.

/

I knock on the door and there she is. Ana is dressed up in nothing but a tank top and some short shorts. I have to say I like what she's wearing as her legs look amazing in that outfit but I hope she doesn't dress like that outside their apartment. Fuck! Fuck I hope she doesn't dress like that when she's in the presence of another man or a lesbian. I do not need anyone else lusting over my Ana. And Fuck those tits! They are just begging for me to fondle them. Fuck! I need to control myself.

"Hi" she says meekly at me before smiling and I can't help but smile at her as well. Her smile just manages to reach the deepest recesses of my body and make me feel…light. It's such a wonderful feeling whatever this is.

"Hi." I reply before I lean in for a kiss which thankfully she accepts. Ah her lips are so soft and so perfect. Kissing her is seemingly second nature for me. It's as if her lips were sculpted to perfectly accommodate my lips. I pull away and I see her having turned a shade pinker. Oh she is so cute! She steps aside and lets me in her apartment once more.

Fuck I cannot believe I did not bring anything. I would have bought wine but unfortunately I cannot afford the best types yet. Fuck! And I dare not bring anything else to Ana other than the best. I must make sure to only give her the best once I become very rich. If it counts I did buy some condoms. Hey you never know.

"Please take a seat. I'll just get the plates and the food." She says but my mother raised better.

"Ana please let me help. It's the least I could do for you generously accepting me and having me for dinner." I say and she just smiles again.

"Alright. Please grab the plates and utensils while I get the food." I nod and proceed to get them from the cabinet in the kitchen. While I'm getting them Ana just then gets the food out and puts in on a large plate. I see that we're having some Beef Stroganoff with some mashed potatoes. Oh Thank God good food again. First lobster now beef. What could be better than that?

As I move around her tiny kitchen I at the same time observe her movements. She sure seems very at home here but I can't help this feeling I have. We seem to be moving in complete synchrony. It's as if we know where the other is going to be at next and which places to be at and where to avoid. It's amazing what this is. It seems like we're moving as one, complimenting each other's movements. It all seems so domestic. It all seems…normal. This is some crazy connection we have.

I then proceed out of the kitchen and set the items on the dinner table. Dinner for two. Although it seems personal, I don't mind. That way I'll have her all to myself. She follows me shortly and puts the food on the table and we start to eat.

I proceed to put some food on my plate and look at it in all its glory. Damn just looking at it makes me drool. I smell it and of course it tastes divine. I then proceed to take a bite and Holy fuck. I could have an orgasm just by eating this food. It is so good. I notice that I even audibly groan. I look up and check if Ana could have possibly noted. I see that she's giggling while looking at me. What?

"What is it Ana?" Why is she giggling?

"It's you!" What?

"What do you mean me?" Honestly I'm getting confused now. What did I do?

"It's just that you look so cute when you were smelling and gazing at my food. You're face made these contortions which I just loved to see." She gushes and I can't help but feel happy about that. She then proceeds to stand up next to me. "You also have some sauce over your cute little chin." She says and instead of wiping it, she kisses and licks my chin and continues licking until she reaches my lip and finishes it off with a chaste kiss. "All better Mr. Grey." She says then winks and heads back to her table. I just sit in awe. That just sent a message straight to my dick which begins to awaken from its hibernation. Looks like Ana came to play.

"Um. Thank you Ana." I just say before continuing to eat. While eating, I sneak glances at her and when I look up I see that she's also looking at me but when I look at her, she immediately looks away. Oh please Ana I know you were looking. She just continues to do it though. Fine Ms. Steele. I will catch you.

"So Ana how was your day?" I say trying to make friendly conversation.

"It was fine. I just went to library in the morning with Jose." Jose? Who is that fucker?

"Who the fuck is Jose?" She gets startled by my tone but I don't care. I need to know who is this fucker who was in close proximity with Ana just a while ago.

"Well if you must know, he's my friend. He's my friend who is a year younger than us and takes up engineering over at UW. He's a nice Hispanic guy who I've been friend with since last year." She says nonchalantly.

"Is that all?" I say while raising an eyebrow at her. I must know more.

"Yes Christian. Why?" Calm down Christian. She invited you for dinner. She's not that type of girl who would be involved with 2 persons. Plus if she was, why would she tell you about it?

"Nothing. Forget about it." For now.

"Okay, well how was your day?" she asks me changing the topic.

"Well it's been a nice day so far. I went to work first in the morning…" she suddenly cuts me off. She drops her utensils on her plate and just looks at me. She actually looks angry. What did I do?

"Work!" Oh. I probably shouldn't have told her that. "It's a Sunday Christian and you're still going to work! I assume you slept around 2:30 again last night didn't you?" How the? "Oh don't look at me like that Christian! I can tell you've been sleeping late! Do you not think about what this could do to your body?" Wow. I did not expect that.

"Ana, it's fine. I'm not even sleepy. I can handle it." And with that she stands up and goes right beside me and puts her hands on her hips and stomps her foot looking even madder now. I would find it cute if I wasn't too distracted by her tits. They look so round and full and fuckable. Fuck! Wait what the hell is she doing?

"Christian it is not okay. You're only human. You need sleep every once in a while. Do you even sleep straight through the night?" Fuck I can't tell her about the nightmares.

"Um. Yes?" I say in an unconvincing tone and she just glares at me. Fuck! I cannot lie to her.

"Okay I might not sleep straight through the night…" I admit and she laughs. What the?

"Hah! I knew it. Now you Christian Grey will not be finishing any of your food until you promise me to sleep a bit more." And with that she takes my plate away with food still on it. Oh no she didn't. I grab the plate back from her and proceed to put it in front me. She just looks at me and glares. Well I don't fucking care. I will not let food go to waste.

"Give me back the plate now Christian!" She tells me.

"No Anastasia. I will not let you waste food." She just stands her ground. Fuck this girl's got spunk.

"Give it now Christian." She puts her hand out expecting me to put the plate on it. Not happening.

"No." I say and take another bite of it. Fuck it's good. I just love the way it melts in my mouth_. Stay focused Grey! _

"Then promise me you'll sleep a bit more." I make no promises as I probably won't do that anyway. She interprets my silence as me rejecting her proposal and she just sighs.

"Please give me the plate Christian." She tries the nice approach that won't work.

"Look Ana, the reason why I won't give you the plate is because I don't want to waste food. I'm very particular when it comes to food and I don't want it to go to waste because so many people don't have any to eat anyway so why should I waste mine." I pause for a moment letting her catch on. She looks calmer now. "Meanwhile as for work, I work day and night because I want to be able to be as successful as soon as possible. I have a lot to prove and I'm just really passionate about it. Think of it like this. Every second I'm working is another second closer to someone getting a job and them being able to provide for their families." Yes. That was some grade A explaining there. With that she visibly sighs and shakes her head softly.

"Fine but please take care of yourself." She says softly and I just nod. I would never let myself go or feel bad. Why is she so worried then?

She then goes back to her seat and finishes her food. Good girl. When we both finish she stands up to go to pick up the plates but I stop her.

"Ana you cooked, I should at least clean up. Please let me." She relents but eventually gives in. I wash the dishes while she wipes them and puts them in the cabinet. Again it all seems so normal.

After cleaning, I drag her to the sofa and just talk. I love talking to her. I love getting to know more about her. Normally I wouldn't care less if I ever got a sub but with her I want to know more

"So what are you doing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as we all know the holidays are coming." She asks me.

"Well I'll probably spend it with my family like I do every year. Although I might spend them over at my business instead." I say and give her a cheeky little smirk. Of course she immediately acts up.

"Don't you dare Christian Grey! You should spend it with your family!" she says but at least I know this isn't the type of anger she had a while ago. This is more of her being playful.

"Yes ma'am." I say to her before giving her a salute to which she giggles. I love that sound.

"I love that sound." I say to her.

"What sound?" she says looking all curious and perplexed. Fuck she looks cute.

"You giggling. It sounds so pure and…cute!" I say with a pomp and then she giggles some more and blushes. Fuck is it weird that I'm getting turned on by her blushing?

"Thank you." She replies.

"No problem. What are you doing then?" I'm curious to this. I assume Kate is going to her parents. I hope she won't be left alone.

"I don't know, I'll probably spend it with my dad again like I always do."

"You're dad Ray from Montesano right?" I think that's right.

"Yeah. You actually paid attention?" she asks. Does she think I ignore her?

"Of course baby. Anything about you interests me."

"I think you might have wanted to get some Thanksgiving turkey from me didn't you?" She asks in a playful tone.

"Well, maybe." I reply and smile back.

"Well, we'll see." She replies.

We just keep on talking on talking but occasionally we brush up against each other and I'll admit that it's turning me on. I just love the feeling of her skin against mine. I feel this spark coming between us. I know she feels it too as her breath hitches when we make skin contact.

"Umm. Follow me, I wanna show you something in my room." She says and immediately I stand up. Hell yes! To the bedroom we go. I follow her there and I see that it's pretty small. I immediately sit down on the bed while she looks for something in her cabinet. She eventually stands up and gives me a photo.

"Here, you said yesterday you wanted a photo of me so here's one where I look the pretty if I have to say so myself. It's a photo my friend randomly took of me." It's a photo of her leaning against a wall before giving a small shy smile to the camera. I like it. I have to say though that she would look pretty in anything.

"Thank you Ana. This will become my new wallpaper. I might even have to frame it. But know this, you are beautiful no matter what you would wear so you could have given me any picture of you anyway and I still would have liked it." I say and she blushes. Oh Ana, why do you not see yourself as pretty.

"Thank you" she replies but I feel like there's still this somewhat lingering tension around.

"Ana, is everything really okay?" I ask and she sorta squirms so I know everything isn't. "Hey Ana. Baby what's wrong?" I ask. She just shakes her head but I know better. Instinctively, I pull her on my lap. Once there she puts her hands around my neck and puts her head on my shoulder.

"It's just about your work." She says. Oh not this again.

"Why do you care so much about how much time I work?" I ask. She doesn't reply for a few seconds but then she speaks.

"It's just that you could honestly get sick from that and I don't want you to. I told you I care about you." She says and I'm floored. I did not expect that. I can't believe she actually cares about me like that. She then picks her head up after not hearing a reply and looks into me. She must sense my amazement as she speaks up again.

"What Christian?" I takes a few seconds before I finally reply.

"I'm just surprised that all. Thank you. I'm touched for your concern" I really am. Wow. This woman is an angel. She just smiles at me and with that I kiss her nose then proceed to gently kiss her gently. Sigh. I love this feeling. I pull back and smile at her and she just smiles back.

"Fine. I'll take better care of myself." I say.

"Promise?" She asks.

"Promise."

"Good." She smiles but I still sense this sort of wariness with her? What's the matter?

"Baby what is it? I feel like there's something else bothering you." I say. She looks away from me looking embarrassed before she speaks.

"Well it's just that since you're going to be working all the time and now sleeping," She emphasizes the sleeping part and looks at me so I just nod placating her. She sure doesn't relent does she? "I'm just worried that you won't have much time for me anymore. I mean I know we only just met a week ago but…I like spending time with you." She says before looking down. Oh Ana. That's what she was worried about? Silly girl.

"Ana, Baby." I say before I turn her face to look at me. "Baby, of course I would find time for you. I couldn't stay away from you if I tried. I'm just drawn to you Ana on this cosmic level. It's like we're magnets. I will always find a way for you baby." And with that she looks at me with must be shock. Does she not believe me?

"Really?" She squeaks.

"Of course baby. I told you," I pause and I raise her hands and press my hands against it. Palm against palm. I saw this in that Tarzan movie when I was younger and Elliot said that it was a perfect move to win over the ladies so time to test the theory. "I'm just attracted to you on a cosmic level." I finish and with that, she kisses me with such passion. Looks like Tarzan knew what he was doing. I just embrace her kiss. The feeling of her lips on mine is what is right. I just continue kissing and feeling her. This is what I want. This is what I need. I need all of her, whether submissive or fuck buddy or whatever. I just know I want her to be mine.

When she pulls away from the kiss, she puts her forehead against mine and just looks straight at me. I close my eyes for a moment and just feel her presence before I open them again and then I see it. In her eyes, I see something more beautiful than the stars.

"Thank you Christian." She says. I don't know what for but I won't ask.

"You're welcome baby." And with that I kiss her again. Fuck this feels so good. But then I realize something.

"Baby," I pull back and look at her. "Is another reason why you gave me such a pretty picture of yours because you're afraid I was going to forget you and find someone else?" I ask and she gets sort of embarrassed and blushes.

"Well maybe. I mean you're just so gorgeous, you wouldn't have a problem getting any girl you would want."

"Yeah." I say and then she suddenly glares at me but I just chuckle. Oh baby, so jealous when there's nothing to be jealous of. Don't you know you are perfection? "Let me finish baby." I say and she wearily nods. "I meant. Yeah. Too bad I don't want anyone else. It's only you baby." I say and she smiles at me. It's true. No one else compares to Ana. I'm pretty sure no one else could possibly tempt me from this goddess.

"Okay. Thank you." She says and with that we kiss again. We start to kiss very passionately while lying on the bed. Fuck this is hot but I suddenly get an idea. While we're still kissing, I grab my phone and take a picture of us while we're both kissing on the bed. She hears the click though and pulls away from me and stares at me looking all confused.

"Well since I had a picture of you, I thought you should have a picture of me." And with that I send her the picture." When she receives it she just smiles even more and proceeds to kiss and thank me. Eventually our make out session becomes pretty hot. I proceed to kiss her lips but then I start kissing her neck. Oh how she has the softest skin. I love the taste of her skin. It feels so soft. After that I go kiss her ear and bite it eliciting a groan from her. Yes baby. Feel me. I then start to go rocking my hips into her as well, rocking my rock hard erection against her sex. Fuck she feels so good. I start pulling the hem of her shirt up, my hand caressing her very flat stomach and slowly creeping its way up to her breasts. When I'm just about to feel those delicious mounds though, she suddenly pulls away. Did I read that wrong?"

"Um. Baby? Everything alright?" I ask her and she seems nervous. Fuck did I do something wrong?

"Um Christian, were you going to. You know touch my breasts then?" What?

"Yes, Why?" I don't know what's wrong. I definitely felt that she was in the mood.

"Well Um. I don't know how to say this but I'm afraid you'll run." She says before she hides her face and small tears are falling on her face. Oh no.

"Ana. Baby. What's wrong?" I ask and pull her into my lap. She then puts her head in the nook between my neck and my shoulder while her hands snake their way around my neck, gripping it tightly.

"Promise me you won't run Christian." She begs me. What?

"Ana what is this about?" I ask. What is going on?

"Promise me Christian!" She nearly shouts.

"Okay. Okay. I promise I won't run baby and that I will keep an open mind." Fuck what is this?

"I'm…I'm…"She stutters.

"Just say it baby." I say. Fuck I cannot take this any longer.

"I'm a virgin." She says and says something else but I don't hear it. She's a virgin.

She's a virgin. Fuck she's a virgin! No wonder she's so innocent. But how the hell is she a virgin. She's too pretty. Fuck! I cannot possibly get her to be mine. She'll just get hurt by me. Fuck I need to let her go.

I start to try and move her from my lap but she just grasps my neck tighter.

"Please Christian say something. Don't leave me. You said you wouldn't run!" she says while sobbing into my neck. Then it hits me.

"Are you really a virgin?" She looks up at me and nods and then I see it. I see her tear stained face. Obviously worried that I would leave her. I admit I thought about for a few seconds but then seeing her face like that, I couldn't possibly leave her and cause her any more pain. I hate seeing her in pain. Even though I know I might hurt her in the future, I need to follow Elliot's advice and just go with the flow and compromise so that I can avoid hurting her as much. I made a promise and I can't break that now.

"Ana. Baby. I'm not leaving." I say and she looks up tears flowing from her face.

'You're….You're not?" she squeaks.

"Of course not baby. I promised you I wouldn't leave right?" I say and with that I kiss away her tears. I kiss her tearful eyes and I kiss her tear stained cheeks. Then I softly kiss her lips. Her lips are soft when she cries.

"But…I'm a virgin." True but hey, it has its perks.

"That maybe so but hey look at it like this. No one has had you and I am extremely pleased with that. You are mine Anastasia." I say before kissing her again. This time she returns it. I breakaway a bit and look at her.

"I told you, you are what I need." I say and it's true. I thought before that I would gladly have her company even though she wasn't my sub or fuck buddy just as long as I had food but even more now that I know I truly enjoy having her with me.

"Thank you." She says.

"No problem. I assume though that since you pulled away you aren't ready for sex yet right?" I say and she softly nods before looking away from me.

"Hey. It's okay. I don't want to force you into doing anything you don't want to do." I say to her face. "Although you did like our make out session with a bit of contact didn't you?" I ask and she blushes. Ah there's my Ana.

"Well how about we continue that instead. I promise you I'll make you come so hard just by my kisses and touch." I whisper in her ear and she shivers. I look at her and she softly nods.

"Christian…" she whispers at me.

"Yes baby?" I ask.

"We can do what we did a while ago and you can touch me but please do not take any of my clothes off. I know I'll be ready next time but for now please refrain from it." She whispers as if I wouldn't oblige her request.

"Of course baby. Anything you want. I just want you to be comfortable." I say before kissing her lips again. I'm slightly disappointed but I know I can wait. Just a bit more wooing and I should reach 3rd base in no time.

"Okay. Now enough talking, have your way with me Mr. Grey." She says and I take that as my cue.

I pull her into my lap and kiss her hard. This kiss is different from the other kisses we've have so far had. This kiss is all about our carnal desire for each other. I kiss her with much more force this time. I bite her lower lip causing her to let out a soft moan and I use that opportunity to snake my tongue into her mouth, my tongue searching for her own. Once I do, I strike and lick it with purpose trying to leave my mark there that this tongue of Anastasia's is mine and only mine.

I pull away and start licking and nibbling on her neck. Hope she doesn't mind having any hickeys. Anyway I continue to kiss and worship every inch of skin on her neck until I reach her collarbone. Once I reach there, I start to nibble on her collarbone as she puts her hands in my hair, pulling and tugging at them as if they we were some way to let me ease up on my oral assault but that will not stop me.

I go up to her lips and kiss her again. This time, I kiss her with some tongue while my hands caress her face. I eventually lower my left hand on her upper back, caressing it and holding her still my right hand starts to go down from her face to her neck where I trace my finger along its curve resulting in a shiver for her. My right hand then falls down to very top of her top, teasingly tugging it down while I trace the very swell of her breasts and the valley itself.

After tracing my finger there, I start cupping her right breast over the top of her top. Fuck these are the best tits I have felt. They are so firm and round. I start to start kneading them while my thumb gently brushes her nipple making it harden and lengthen even more than it already was. Once it is clearly visible, I lower my mouth on it and start licking and sucking through the shirt, all while my right hand is kneading the breast and my left hands starts to knead the left breast as well, teasing the nipple like in the right. Her hands meanwhile go straight to my hair and she throws her head back to push those plump tits right in my face. Good girl.

I move my mouth then to her left breast and my right hand then keeps pinching her right nipple causing her to groan loudly. I continue my assault on her nipple when I suddenly feel her rocking her hips against my own, desperate for some friction. _Oh you naughty little girl. _I of course oblige by lowering my right hand down her stomach all the way to her sex. I rub my hands all on top of her sex while she keeps on pushing them back and forth. My hand keeps on rubbing on her sex at a very forceful yet satisfying pace. Fuck I can't take this anymore!

I remove my hands from her body and caress her face, I look right into her eyes. I see nothing but desire in them and soon I kiss her hard. My hips meanwhile start rocking against her already rocking pelvis causing my penis to constantly rub against her already wet feeling sex, well based on how wet her shorts were. I keep rocking into her at this wonderful pace. Fuck I'm feeling close.

I decide to go in for the kill and put my hands on her butt cheeks, squeezing them tight and pulling her even closer to my erection and rubbing it there. I hear her audibly moan and I take that as my cue to put my mouth back on her very pert nipples. I keep biting and licking on her nipples while my hands keep pushing her hips up and down against my erection. This eventually pushes her over the edge as I see her visibly find her release while I rock into her hips a few more times before I find my own release as well. Fuck that was amazing. She eventually rests her hands around my neck and just leans on to me, resting and catching her breath.

"Wow. That was amazing Ana." I say after we catch our breaths. She then looks up at me and I see her looking completely sated.

"Did I do okay? Was what I did correct?" Oh Ana, so innocent.

"Was that first orgasm you've ever had?" I had. Wow I didn't know she was this innocent.

"Yes" she replies shyly.

"You haven't even masturbated?" I ask and she blushes.

"No. No one has even touched my body and my intimate parts before." And that pleases me greatly. I love the fact that Ana has been and will mine completely and only mine.

"Well baby, for your first time, you sure were amazing." I say and she looks at me in shock.

"Really?" she asks.

"Yes really. Fuck that was the best foreplay I've ever had. For someone so virginal, you sure are a dirt little sex kitten aren't you." I say and smile cheekily against her and she blushes even more. I just love it when she blushes so I kiss her on her lips chastely. I then proceed to stand up and go to the bathroom, grab some tissue and when I come back, I start to clean up the cum that has dripped on her legs.

"Um. Thank you." She says when I clean her but tells me she'll just change shorts and panties later.

"It's getting late. You should leave." She says and I agree. I have to wake up early tomorrow. Of course she doesn't need to know that but it is a Monday after all.

"Yeah." I say and I head out of her room and into the living room.

"Does your chest still hurt?" She asks.

"What?" Where did that come from?

"Does your chest still hurt? You know, you told me on Friday that you had an accident causing it to hurt." Um how do I respond to this?

"It's healing. It might take a while though so please refrain from touching my chest and upper back." I lie. Fuck I hate lying to her. I also hate not telling her about all my past yet but I'll save that for another day.

"Oh Ok. I hope you get better soon." She says and it's my turn to ask her a serious question. I step outside her apartment and just look at her through the open door.

"Ana."

"Yes?" She says. Fuck how I say this.

"Please be mine." I say and she looks confused. Fuck just say you will.

"What?"

"Please be mine."

"Umm. I don't understand…" she says and I go stand right in front of her and cup her face. I look into her eyes and will her to just say yes. I don't know what this all means but I need to hear that she will be mine.

"Please Ana. Be mine." I say and after looking into my eyes for a while, her confused look disappears and is replaced by a smile.

"Okay Christian." She said yes!

"Yes?" I ask. I need to hear it one more time.

"Okay Christian. I'm yours." Oh thank God. I lean in to kiss her but she holds her hand up to stop me. Now what?

"Yes Ana?"

"Christian. I'll only be yours if you'll only be mine." Oh that is and will never be a problem.

"Oh don't worry baby. I have always been monogamous. But yes, I am yours and only yours." This seems to satisfy her as she doesn't stop me anymore when I try to kiss her. I then kiss her for a while and once we part we are both out of breath. God we're both insatiable.

"Well I should be going." I say reluctantly.

"Yeah. Have a safe trip home." She says.

"Yeah thanks." I'm about to leave when I notice something suddenly and stop. I go to her and look directly at her still very much visible and hardened nipples. I take both of her breasts in my hands and give them both a firm squeeze.

"Well goodbye my favorite set of twins." I say before I kiss and lick them once both before releasing my grip on her breasts, wink at her and leave. As I turn, I hear the sounds of her giggle and that just lifts me up even more.

As I'm on the way home I hear the song 'Til Kingdom Come by Coldplay echo through the bus. I have to say it's a pretty appropriate song for what I'm feeling right now. Or at least what I'm thinking.

_Steal my heart and hold my tongue._

_I feel my time, my time has come._

_Let me in, unlock the door._

_I've never felt this way before._

_The wheels just keep on turning,_

_The drummer begins to drum,_

_I don't know which way I'm going,_

_I don't know which way I've come._

_Hold my head inside your hands,_

_I need someone who understands._

_I need someone, someone who hears,_

_For you, I've waited all these years._

_For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come._

_Until my day, my day is done._

_And say you'll come, and set me free,_

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

_In your tears and in your blood,_

_In your fire and in your flood,_

_I hear you laugh, I heard you sing,_

_"I wouldn't change a single thing."_

_The wheels just keep on turning,_

_The drummers begin to drum,_

_I don't know which way I'm going,_

_I don't know what I've become._

_For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,_

_Until my days, my days are done._

_Say you'll come and set me free,_

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

I don't know what I'm feeling but I know it's definitely something I didn't bargain for when I decided to pursue Anastasia but surprisingly, I like it. I know I'm a work in progress but… I'm trying. I know I can definitely wait for Anastasia. I just hope she can wait for me...On another note, I gotta change my pants when I get home!

**A/N. They sure act like they've been together for a while now right? I just love the awkwardness of teenage romance even though they're not teenagers, they sure act like it, or at least I think so.**

**Next chapter Christian visits the bitch troll. Also expect more Ana and Christian fluff along with a side of business.**

**Now some of you might complain that they got together too fast or without much problems but I'd like to remind you that Christian here is only 21 and was not fully corrupted by Elena and has managed to avoid the temptations of having submissives, so he isn't that fucked-up. He's actually quite normal, just troubled by his past. It won't always be smooth sailing but I'll let them have their fun…for now. This is more of going to be a light-hearted story although there will be drama to spice things up.**

**And btw OMG when I was typing the cellphone picture scene, my phone suddenly beeped and I was like thinking "Oh My God! This must be fate! It's Mr. Grey!" however when I opened it up, it was just a chain message so yeah that sucked :(**

**See you next chapter. Please review!**


	8. The Rise of An Empire

**Terribly sorry for not updating in a month! Things have been pretty crazy in my life since I last updated. I just recently moved my permanent place of residence and it's taken me some time to be able to write again. I was barely able to squeeze this chapter out. Anyway I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to update again but I promise I will not abandon this story. Thanks for understanding and thanks for not giving up on my story despite the recent inactivity on my part.**

**Ana's POV**

"Bye Christian." I whisper as he's already turned to leave. After he disappears from my line of sight, I close the door to the apartment, close my eyes and sigh as I'm leaning against the door. I can't believe I actually did all of those. Who would have thought? I open my eyes and I see Kate there at the other side of the living room smirking at me. When did she get here?

"Kate! When did you get in here? I never noticed you go in." I say. Did she just suddenly appear here like magic?

"Um. I came in and no one was here so I proceeded to go to my room but surprise surprise when I passed by your room, I could have sworn I heard some voices coming from it." Kate says while grinning at me. Oh I hope she didn't hear any of my moans.

"Really?" I somehow manage to squeak out.

"Yes. I do believe those moans were yours right Ana?" Kate says then smiles at me big. I immediately blush at her notion. Oh God this is so embarrassing. "I knew it! Oh Ana! You little slut! Who knew you had it in you?" She says and I just blush even more. I don't think I'm a slut. I mean it's not like we did anything. I admit I liked it though. I wonder when can we do that again. _Stop thinking like that Ana! You are a slut!_

"So?" Kate asks.

"So what?" I don't know what she wants from me.

"Tell me what was he like! Was he good? Did he make you come a lot? I bet he did. Is he you know…huge? I bet he is. He just looks like…" She rambles and I need to interrupt her. This conversation a bit too lewd for my tastes.

"Kate!" I shout while still blushing. I cannot believe we are having this conversation.

"Sorry Steele. It's just not every day that you lose your virginity you know?" She says while raising an eyebrow at me.

"We didn't do it Kate."

"You didn't?" Kate looks shocked to say the least.

"No."

"Oh. It's just that you're moans were so loud I thought you know…" And with that I blush furiously again. I cannot believe I did all of that. Much less with Kate hearing all of it!

"Well I told him I wasn't ready so we just had a little frisky make out session." I still remember the way he kept rubbing his erection on top of my sex while kneading my breasts and biting my nipples. God that was amazing.

"Earth to Ana?"

"What?" I must have spaced out.

"Oh Ana you were thinking about what you did with Christian didn't you?" she accuses. Damn it Kate! I don't reply because I feel so embarrassed so I just lower my head down. "Oh I knew it Ana! He must really know how to work then to be able to make you moan like that just by making out. Imagine how good he is in the sack then."

"Um. Yeah." I manage to squeak out. These are not my types of conversations. Kate stops laughing and makes me look at her.

"Ana. Seriously. I'm happy for you. I can tell he really likes you."

"Really?" I wonder what she notices.

"Yeah. You two seem to light up when you're together, it's quite cute. Plus props to him for being patient enough to wait for you to be ready." I smile at that. Yes I do think we're good together or maybe I'm just delusional. Maybe he's just feeling sorry for me. Yes that's it. _Oh don't overthink this!_ And I am really thankful that he isn't pressuring me into anything. I never really thought about sex. I mean never. I guess the sexual desire in me has never really popped out until now. Christian is making me feel things I never knew I had in me. God I sound so insatiable. What are you doing to me Christian Grey?

"I'm impressed though Ana. Your first boyfriend is no other than Christian Grey. Very impressive." Boyfriend? Is Christian my boyfriend? We never really discussed what I am now. Am I his girlfriend? I think I want to be his girlfriend. All he said was that he was mine and I was his. Does Christian see me as his girlfriend? I hope he does. All I know is that we're exclusive.

"What makes it so impressive?" What does she know about Christian?

"Well you know me, being the aspiring journalist that I am, I make sure to always know what's happening in the world. Plus I do sorta have some knowledge on Seattle's elite." That's right. Christian did say his father was a lawyer and his mother was a doctor. Plus he does seem to come from a wealthy background. "Well, what's impressive is that his family, the Greys are arguably the most powerful family in Seattle." Holy smokes. "His dad is close to all the politicians in the state and his mother is at the top of the social ladder among Seattle's elite according to my mother." Kate does come from a wealthy family and her mother is a socialite/designer so what she's saying must be true. "Add that to the fact that Christian is on his way to the top of the business world and you've got yourself one heck of a family." Wow. Now that I think about it, we are from very different worlds. He comes from money and is very smart and successful, his family oozes class and sophistication. Now not that my family is poor or anything but let's just say that my parents aren't exactly going to be invited to any high profile events anytime soon. "Plus…"Oh there's more. "In case you haven't noticed, look at him Ana! He has to be the most gorgeous man who has walked the face of the Earth, so yes Ana, impressive."

Everything that she said was true. It seems Christian and his family are so perfect. Kate was right. It is beyond impressive. What I was able to do is staggering to say the least. How was I able to do it? How was I able to lure Christian in? Will he eventually realize he can do better than me? I can't bear the thought of it. Kate senses my worries and quickly moves to reassure me.

"Hey Steele, don't you go overthinking things now okay? He chose you." Yeah but for how long? "Plus remember that you are a babe. Don't go rehashing all of your self-esteem issues okay?"

"Yeah sure." I placate her. She really does have the craziest ideas but I appreciate her unwavering desire in helping me overcome my issues. I hope Christian can look past them as well. "Oh Kate, could I borrow your laptop? I need to check a few things." I usually just borrow Kate's laptop as I don't have one. I just never needed one but I feel like I'm going to need one in the future.

"Sure Steele." And with that I proceed to her room but not before she says something that makes me flustered. "Oh and Ana? You might wanna change tops. Your nipple areas seem a bit wet don't you think?" She says and with that I'm mortified. I look down and see that my nipples are still hard and the whole nipple areas of my top are wet and you can only guess what happened to them. Then again I think Kate can see that my shorts are probably dripping wet as well. My face reddens while I cross my arms over my breasts as Kate smirks at me.

"Um. Yeah. I gotta go." And with that I head to Kate's room to grab her laptop and then head to my room. I immediately change tops, shorts and underwear. Just like I thought, my panties are wet. Well that has never happened before. I quickly change and then plop down on the bed. I really can't believe all of that has happened today. Never would I have ever thought I would be with someone. I've just never found anyone interesting until now. I mean it's hard to find anything uninteresting about Christian. He seems so enigmatic that you just want to know more about him but still, there seems to be this something between me and Christian that draws me in. It's not just the looks or his success. Christian and I just connect like he said on this cosmic plain. I'm scared because I've never felt any of these feelings before but at the same time, I'm thrilled. It's scary how well we connect.

Anyway I'm shocked to say the least when Christian said that that was the best foreplay he ever had. I mean of course I'm not very happy that he said that as that means he's had tons of experience with other women but I won't dwell on it. I'm shocked because I have never done anything like that and he says that that was the best he ever had? I can practically see my inner goddess jumping up and down in joy at his declaration. No one has touched me like that. No one has even kissed me like the way he kisses me. When he kisses me, there's just fireworks. I mean I've only been kissed a few times and none of them were really good. I've never really been on any real dates. I'm even a virgin and no one has seen me naked. I've never even seen any guys naked in person. I seem so virginal and inexperienced, which I am, compared to him. I mean he just screams sex. He screams power, class and smoothness. He screams everything that a perfect man should be while I don't have the same qualities for the female version. It's a miracle he's attracted to me. Maybe the saying is true that opposites attract. I'm not gonna lie and say that I didn't enjoy what we did. Kate says that I'm a prude and I guess she's pretty much right about that. Never in a million years would I have thought I would do that.

I turn on the laptop and proceed to upload the pictures that I have with Christian. Oh I love the picture he took of us kissing while on the bed. It looks so cute! I then do a bit of research for school and proceed to sleep but not before texting Christian again. I'm getting used to this.

**Hope you got home safely**. –A

**Yes I did. Thank you for your concern**. –C

**Good night.** –A

**Good night baby. I'll be dreaming of you.** –C. Oh I just love it when he calls me baby! It makes me feel special. Special to him. And I love that he'll be dreaming of me. Don't worry Christian. I'll be dreaming of you too.

/

**Christian's POV**

What a night I had. I definitely did not expect all those things to happen a while ago. First my parents found out how well I was doing and it seems like they were surprised to say the least. I know it isn't often that you hear someone become a millionaire after only a few months but I'm not an ordinary guy. At least I'll be able to pay them off after a few weeks. And by paying them off, I mean more than just the money. I must make sure to send them on a vacation somewhere in the near future for not only the money they lent me, but for everything they've done for me. Damn I am so excited to get my hands on all the money I deserve after working so hard!

What happened next was what was surprising. I got to Ana's place and had a great time. First I joined her for dinner but unfortunately I let it slip that I wasn't getting much sleep. She then proceeded to act all silly and threaten to take away my food if I didn't sleep more. I reluctantly accepted just to placate her. Women. Why do they have to complicate things?

Anyway after dinner, I helped her with the dishes and then we proceeded to just talk on her sofa about everything in our lives. Well almost everything. Ana can never find out about my past. Fuck I hate lying to her though. Even if it's to protect her. _Are you really protecting her though? Or are you just being too selfish again and not even considering how she's going to feel. Do you want to see her sad and hurt over your silence? _Fuck you! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! See this is why I hate that voice in my head. I know he's right but I just hate being wrong. Why can't things just always go my way? This is why I need control.

Yet I seemingly relinquish all control I have over Anastasia. I admit I was genuinely touched by her concern for me. I mean of course I get my parent's concern for me but for some reason Anastasia's concern feels different. What she showed me felt different. It felt warm and…nice. Normally I would shy away from that because I have never really experienced that I don't like being surprised yet I welcome it when it comes to Anastasia. After knowing me for a week she already has me wrapped around her web. It's a miracle she's still a virgin with all the power she holds over men which she doesn't even realize.

Yet another reason I was shocked was that she was a virgin. I knew she was innocent but I never thought she was a virgin. To say I'm shocked would be an understatement. She is just is just so damn beautiful. Her eyes twinkle every time I see them. Her body is out of this world. She has the perfect amount and proportion of curves. I have to say she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Looks better than anyone else I've been with at Harvard. She is the physical embodiment of feminine perfection.

The way her breasts feel are so nice. They fit my hands perfectly, like they were made for me and they felt so heavy and full. Her nipples felt so nice as well. The way she rocked hips against my erection causing me to moan gave me an insight as to how there's actually a sex goddess hidden in all that shyness. I loved the feeling of her hair. Maybe it would look even better if I braided it?

Anyway when she led me to her room, I thought that I was finally going to get laid but it didn't turn out that way. She told me that she was a virgin after she made me promise that I wouldn't run. I admit for a couple of seconds that I wanted to run. She deserves better. She deserves her first time to be special but at the same time the selfish bastard in me is consumed by nothing but absolute happiness that no one else has ever touched her. Just the thought of someone else touching her is like a knife twisting in my dark soul. Fuck if I ever let that happen. Anastasia Steele is mine.

After arriving home and taking care of a few more things, I sleep for the night and let Ana consume my thoughts, welcoming her to invade not only my dreams but also my entire being.

/

***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *CLICK***

I wake up and turn off the alarm. Yet again it didn't happen. I didn't have another nightmare. Ever since I was a small child I was always reluctant to go to sleep because I knew the nightmares would follow me and never leave me alone. They plague my thoughts every night. Reminding me of the horrors I have experienced which to this day plague me, never allowing me a nice peaceful rest. That's another reason why I avoid sleep. If I'm awake then I can't be vulnerable to the torture I experience while I'm asleep. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

_I'm just standing here. In front of me is the small one room apartment where my mother and I lived in when I was a small child. I can't move, I can't speak, but I can see and I can hear. I can't not see or not hear if I tried. The worst part is that I feel physically whatever my mini me feels._

_In front of me is the four year old version of me. I look small, very weak looking. I'm wearing nothing but some shorts. I am all skin and bones, no muscle. My hair is wild and all over the place. It looks disgusting. It looks greasy and like it's going to fall off strand by strand any day now. My eyes look too big for my face, like an owl. They also look bloodshot. The small amount of teeth that I have are so yellow, you'd think I had eaten nothing but pineapple for the last 4 years. Overall I look like a mess. Nothing like a kid should look like. I look like death. My mother though, now she's another story._

_My mother is there in front of me. She's wearing some sweaters and some worn out jeans. Her hair looks greasy as well. Her eyes like mine are bloodshot but they seem empty. I have a feeling she's high right now again right in front of me. What a fucking terrible example. And worse, there's her pimp, slowly undressing her while kissing her neck all the way down to her collarbone while she does nothing to stop him. What a fucking crackwhore. _

"_Oh Ella. That's right. Just let me touch and feel you." The pimp mouths while mom doesn't bother to react. He eventually undresses as well and proceeds to fuck the shit out of my mom who is still very high and not really aware of what she's doing. This is fucking disgusting. I'm standing here practically puking inside of my mouth while he continues to thrust hard into my mom. First he fucks her while kissing her neck and her breasts. "Oh Ella. Yes these are so nice and full." He murmurs and then he proceeds to take her from behind. "That's right bitch! Feel me! Feel me you bitch!" he shouts while going faster and faster. Motherfucker enough!_

_I can't believe I have to fucking see this shit every fucking time I go to sleep. And what's worse is that my 4 year old self is there, visibly hungry and clearly needing comfort and she's doing nothing but let herself be used and ravaged by that monster. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing that as a child and not really sure what was happening but I knew I was hurting then. _

_Once he gets his load off, he proceeds to shrug my mom off who just tidies herself up and acts like nothing happened. The pimp then gives my mom something, I assume more crack. He then turns toward me who is just sitting in the corner. Absolutely paralyzed and doing nothing but looking out into the room._

"_Hey you little shit." He shouts before moving towards me. I try to move away but he quickly corners me and traps me in his arms. 4 year old me shouts and screams and tries to free himself but is too weak to actually do anything. "Don't think I forgot about you." He says before dragging to the sofa and pinning my body down with his. "Now that I'm finished with that stupid mother of yours, I think I need someone to release the extra energy I built up now don't I?" he snarls and with that he brings out a cigarette from his jacket and lights it up with a lighter. Oh fuck no! I know where this is going. My four year old self's eyes now widen and he begins to cry and scream at the top of his lungs but all of it is in vain though._

"_No one is going to fucking save you, you piece of shit! You deserve this for being the son of that stupid crackwhore you call a mother. I'm just doing the world a favor and getting rid of the scum plaguing this Earth and it starts with you." He snarls and I see in his face nothing but pure anger. Anger, disgust and contempt fill every fiber of this guy's face as he starts to put the tip of the cigarette against my chest._

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" My four year old shouts out while crying and trashing his body all over the place but is still being pinned down by the pimp. The pimp meanwhile is laughing maniacally, showing nothing but utter content and happiness with what he is doing, that sick fucker. I meanwhile begin to feel its effects as well. "Fuuuuuuuuck!" I continually scream. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The pain is unbearable. I know it's just a dream but it feels real. I feel the white hot cigarette burn my skin. Completely destroying the skin cells being consumed by it and leaving behind a mark that I have been completely abused and taken advantage of by the crackwhore's pimp. What's worse is that I can't even trash around, my body just remains stationary but my body feels the pain. It is extremely dangerous to not be able to react physically to any stimuli causing pain. At least it's just a dream although my body in the real world is most likely trashing and screaming right now._

_I see my four year old self continue to trash around and cry and scream and after twisting the cigarette for effect on my chest. The pimp removes it from his chest, takes a whiff of it himself and proceeds to blow all of the smoke on my 4 year old self's face. 4 year old me just coughs while continuing to trash around and feel the after effects of the cigarette. 4 year old me eventually rolls of the sofa and starts to shiver and breathe heavily. Trying to get rid of the remaining pain consuming him. Please, just make the pain go away. Please just make it stop. I see 4 year old me sporting a black eye as tears stream down his face with anguish and pain consuming every fiber of his being._

_The pimp just stands up and throws the cigarette on the floor. He goes over to mini Christian and kicks him in the ribs multiple times while laughing maniacally. Mini me just shouts in pain some more. He then wipes his hands with a towel on the floor. "Nice doing business with you Ella, I'll see you next time, whenever that may be or whenever I feel like it." He pauses a bit and turns around to look at mini-Christian's body. "I really should have stabbed the cigarette into your eye you little shit..." He says looking at 4 year old me who is still shivering on the floor. "…but I think I'll save that for another time. Hasta La Vista." The fucker has the nerve to make a joke and leaves. This image is forever embedded in the deepest recesses of my mind. My mother lying on the floor looking thoroughly fucked, and not in a good way while inhaling yet another pinch of crack. I on the other hand am lying down covering my face with my hands, crying my eyes out and making sure my chest avoids contact with anything. The cockroaches then begin to swarm all over my body and the rats go near me and tangle in my hair, one of them even nibbles my ear. Disgusting. This is the image that has haunted me for 17 years now. The image that basically represents the whole of my childhood. Never will I forget the horrors of my past. It has begrudgingly defined me all of my life. Until now, I have not moved on and I don't think I ever will. I just hope I never see that pimp again or else I'm pretty sure I would be in jail already._

Fuck I do not need these thoughts this early. Wait scratch that, I never need to have these sort of thoughts. That's why I avoid sleep. I need to avoid reliving the past over and over again. I've tried to just forget them but nothing has ever worked. For a long time I've been going to therapists but none of them have actually helped. I think my mom wants me to get another therapist. She recommended someone but I forgot his name. She says he's this very good doctor who just moved to Seattle from Chicago and is known for taking on people with specific issues. Sounds like a fucking waste of time and money again but I know I'll give him a shot anyway just to placate my mom. There is nothing I wouldn't do for my mom. I won't meet him till I make a few million though. I won't have my parents support me anymore and I have a feeling he's going to be a bit expensive.

/

It's 8:30am when I finally receive a text from Ana. I love how we always communicate. I need to make sure she is safe. I also just love having her company.

**Good morning**. –A

**Good morning baby.** –C.

**Baby is the right term. I slept like one last night**. –A. Oh was she tired?

**Were you tired?** –C

**Yes…** - A. Oh baby.

**I hope you're okay now my insatiable little sex kitten.** –C

**Christian! I am not whatever you said I was. I can't even type what you said!** –A. Oh Ana. Such a prude and so innocent. I love it!

**Oh trust me Ana. I know you were tired because of the way you came so hard last night. I saw the evidence very clearly and it was wet.** – C.

**Christian!** –A. Oh I love this. It's so fun teasing Ana. Instead of texting her back, I call her. She answers on the 2nd ring.

"Christian?" Ah. There's my baby. I also just need her voice every day. For some reason, it calms me.

"Admit it baby. You were tired because you came so hard last night." I push.

"Christian! I can't believe you're so…so…crass with your words!" Well that's one thing you're going to find out baby. I have a very bad potty mouth.

"Yeah but I was correct wasn't I?" She doesn't reply at first so I had to push her answer out. "Baby?" I coo.

"Fine. Yes Christian." This pleases me. Yes Christian Grey still has the magic touch.

"Thank you baby. Was that so hard to answer?"

"Anyway, I'm in class right now next to Kate. I'm waiting for the professor to arrive."

"Okay. Have a great day baby."

"You two. Mwah Mwah. Bye." God I love getting her kisses.

"Bye…" I say and wait for her to hang up but she doesn't.

"Hang up baby." I say.

"No you hang up." She says playfully. Oh you will not win this baby.

"No you hang up."

"Christian, you were the last to say something so you need to be the one that hangs up." She says. Not where I'm concerned. I need to make sure that she will properly end the call thus proving she didn't get kidnapped at the end or something.

"Okay bye. Baby." I say.

"Bye." She says and after a few seconds we realize no one is going to hang up. Gah!

"Christian! You said you'd hang up!" She says in an accusatory yet playful tone at the same time. God she sounds so cute.

"Well if I remember correctly Ms. Steele, you said that the person who says the last thing in the conversation should hang up and you were the last one to say something so…" I say and she giggles and fuck her giggles will be the death of me. They sound so fucking cute, it just warms my nonexistent heart. Sigh.

"Fine." She huffs and that earns a laugh from me. I bet she's pouting right now and has stomped her cute little foot on the floor.

"Are you pouting right now baby?"

"Hmmph! That's ridiculous Christian!" she says and I just laugh some more. This feeling is great! I need to experience this every day. She eventually laughs as well until we are both out of breath.

"Okay, the professor is about to arrive now so I really got to go." Stupid fucking professor interrupting my time with my baby. I sigh.

"Okay baby. Have a great day. Bye."

"Bye Christian." She says and after a while still doesn't hang up. Unbelievable! Can't she just do what she's told?

"Ana!" I shout playfully at her to which she giggles.

"Okay fine bye. Mwah Mwah." And with that she hangs up. Finally! But now I'm sad. I really like talking to her. She makes me feel so light and when I interact with her, I feel free sort of. I feel…happy for once. Genuinely happy. Like I don't have a care in the world whenever I'm with her. What are these things I'm feeling?

Lately I've been feeling things I've never felt before. I'm not sure what these are but they feel light. I'm not sure though whether I'm supposed to accept or reject it but due to my fucked-upness, I decide to just suppress it and hope it goes away. I cannot take it when I don't know what it is supposed to be. I hate being surprised and not being in control yet with Ana, I experience it every day and I do nothing to stop it. God what does that woman have over me?

I fully realize now that that woman is not a submissive yet I find myself drawn to her like no one else has before. I don't care that she's not a submissive, I just want her to be mine to which she thankfully has agreed to. I guess we could start with vanilla then after she trusts me enough, we can work our way towards kink. I need to buy some toys first though. Maybe after I get my first few millions.

Maybe I should see that shrink that mom recommended. I call her and she thankfully answers on the first ring.

"Christian? What's wrong honey?"

"Nothing's wrong mom. I just wanted to ask you if you could give me the name of that shrink you wanted me to see." I say and I think I hear her gasp. Yup. For the first time she actually hears me say that I want to see a shrink. Growing up they always just made me see them but they would never help. Well I might as well give this one a try if he is that well recommended.

"Oh Christian I think it's wonderful that you're actually seeking help." I hate the fact that she said I was 'seeking help'. I feel like some sort of drug addict but I do realize that acceptance is the first step to healing, not that I'll ever be healed but I hope to try and be as not fucked up as possible if only for Ana.

"Yeah mom. So his name?"

"His name is John Flynn. I can have someone send you a file on him tomorrow." Wow, my mom works fast but knowing her, she just wants me to try and be normal as soon as possible. I also need to get a background check on him once I manage to snag Barney and his cousin.

"Okay mom. Thanks."

"Christian?" she asks.

"Yes?"

"What made you suddenly want to seek help? I mean you were never really looking for help before, you said it was a waste of time but now…" I can't tell her it's because of Ana. She'll go crazy and probably scare her off. I just want to be better in order to give Ana nothing but the best. Isn't that reason enough? I lie to her anyway.

"Yeah well I just thought that I should try to act my age and try and fix myself so I don't miss out more on life than what I've already missed like my teenage years when I was supposed to be partying."

"Oh okay. Glad to see you trying to change now son." She says and I would normally take that as the time to end the call but something suddenly popped up in my mind.

"Mom?"

"Yes son?"

"When is the next time I can visit Elena?" I ask. I need to be able to see how she's doing. I can't help but feel a bit guilty that I'm one of the reasons she got into a coma. Don't get me wrong, I still disdain her for what she did to me but I just need to see her. I don't know why but I just do.

"Um. Her next visitor's day is on Thursday at 2:00pm. Would you like to accompany me?" Yes. I can do that.

"Okay mother. I'll meet you at the reception of the hospital on Thursday at 2:00pm."

"Okay Christian."

"Bye. Mom."

"Bye, Christian and remember, be good." And with that she ends the call. Hah! When have I never been good_? Hmm. Want me to list down all the times?_ You know what never mind.

/

It's Wednesday at 7:54 am and I'm here at work. I'm working on a few more figures while waiting for it to be 8:00am when Barney and his cousin Alistair arrive. After a few more minutes, my intercom buzzes.

"Sir. Your 8ams have arrived." Riley says over the intercom.

"Okay" I say and with that I step out. I go outside and see the two of them. They both look nervous. They're both in what looks like some casual work attire. Meaning just the typical long sleeved shirt and pants. Although they do have colorful ties. I'm not really one for color. I'm more of a neutral color guy. Just black, white, gray or silver. I would never be caught dead in anything like orange work attire or that tie of that terrible boy band that Mia keeps trying to give me. I forgot the name though of the band.

I go closer to them and there I get a view of Alistair. There are some similarities between him and Barney so you wouldn't be hard pressed to believe that they were cousins. He also wears glasses like Barney but seems a bit more composed than Barney who seems fidgety and nervous. He doesn't need to be nervous if he does his job correctly.

"Ah Mr. Grey. This is my cousin Alistair Welch. And I'm sure you remember me, but if you don't I'm Barney Sullivan, you know the guy you talked to last week at UW regarding a job here." Barney fidgets. His cousin elbows him in the ribs causing him to wince a bit. I like this guy.

"Alistair. Christian Grey. Nice to meet you." I say while shaking his hand. Firm enough though still a bit weak like Barney's.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Grey" he replies.

"Come let me show you around." I say before I motion for them to follow me. I then tour them around for 30 minutes. Giving them a full show of how my company is one of the up and coming businesses in Seattle. All while leading a green initiative no less. After a while I lead them into the IT Department. Once there, hasty introductions are made and I make one of the guys there properly show them all of our resources. They seem genuinely interested in what I have here and when I see them smiling, I know I've got this.

I then steal Alistair for a moment to get to know him a bit better. He seems like a good person like Barney. He's 24 like Barney but he finished from UW 2 years ago. He never really got any full time jobs because he would always try to balance 2 or 3 jobs at the same time even though he is really good, he never got paid well enough or got a good enough job to stick to it. I guess that just works even more in my favor.

After a bit of negotiating with Barney and Welch, which I decided to call him instead of Alistair, which sounds like a comic book villain's name and because Welch is just shorter, They're going to start as soon as possible which means next Monday. Welch has to officially resign from his current jobs which are just being a waiter, janitor and a technical support guy. Barney meanwhile has to file for an official dismissal from the university because he wants to get some of the partial tuition that he paid before. I would normally just want to say to him that he should screw the money, he's gonna make more working for me anyway but he tells me that the money he paid was from some very taxing extra jobs he took so I guess he wants to salvage some pride or something? I won't interfere. I'm going to accompany him to UW on Friday to finalize it. Hopefully I get to see a glimpse of Anastasia there too. God I miss her already.

Based on what they've shown me so far, Barney will become the head of my IT department immediately. The amount of information he knows about computers is staggering. Welch meanwhile will become the head of my security over here at my company. He's good with computers like Barney but he has all these contacts in the government and the military which I never knew someone could somehow have. Apparently his late father was a marine who just happened to have a lot of connections so he passed down that knowledge to his son. Lucky me indeed. First thing I would need them to do is to shore up my company's security to the maximum and to get a background check on Anastasia. The background check my previous staff gave me wasn't detailed enough. I wonder if Welch can get her medical records. Once they get settled, it's off to work.

I'm about to escort Barney and Welch out of the building when Barney suddenly speaks up.

"No way" he says to one of the members of my IT department. "I have the exact same tie as that at home." He says pointing to the terrible Chewbacca designed tie. I just chuckle in my head. Soon they all start a small conversation about their expectations for the next Star Wars movie. Yep. I think they're gonna get settled here fast.

/

"Thank you Mr. Nisler. Glad you finally see things my way."

"Well I admit you drive a hard bargain Christian but I admire your tenacity and business acumen. Good luck with your company."

"Thank you Mr. Nisler."

"Please it's Wesley." Um. I don't really like being unprofessional but to deny him of this would be rude.

"Wesley." I nod.

"I'll have all the documents fax by tomorrow or Friday at the most. Have a great day."

"Thank you." I say and nod then proceed to leave the office. Holy fuck I just did it. I just signed on the dotted line confirming my purchase of Nisler Comms and its subsidiaries. Holy fuck. I'm a millionaire. Wait. Scratch that. With the size of this deal, I'm now a multi-millionaire. Holy fuck Yes! I love this fucking thrill I get from business. First thing I need to buy is a new apartment, preferably near Anastasia's and a new car, definitely the Audi. Yes I did it. I have made it. No more having to contend with Elliot snoring all the time or riding the bus with strangers. And I'm not stopping any time soon.

/

I soon arrive back at my company with Ros and go into the conference room where the department heads and their assistants are. They all look at me like they're just expecting big news. I'm bet some of them are even surprised to see me sort of smiling as I never smile but this deal has made me really happy.

I take my place at the head of the table and speak up.

"As of 2:14pm today, I now own Nisler Comms and all its subsidiaries." I hear a small gasp before the round of applause makes it appearance. I admit this deal officially makes me a major player in the telecommunications market. "Now the documents will be handed over no longer than Friday so I expect that you all know what to do with the news." I stop and drink a glass of water. "I want a full report on all the figures of their company and the subsidiaries before I decide which ones I keep on and which ones I sell." I say to my accounting department. "Next, I want a statement regarding the deal by my desk no longer than Saturday afternoon. I also expect a lot of press hounding me on this so try to keep things as private as possible. The less press, the better for me." I say to PR. "Lastly is that I want Grey Enterprises Holdings to be launched as soon as possible. I will get back to you tomorrow as to which floor each subsidiary will be placed at." I say. "Any questions? No? Then meeting adjourned." I say and they all start leaving the room with me.

I overhear some of their conversations on the way out.

"Wow. I can't believe Mr. Grey made the company so successful so fast." Yeah well like I said I'm going to make this company go places.

"I wish I was that good when I was 21." Trust me, these brains came at a cost.

"Mr. Grey was so hot in there." "I know, he's so yummy!" Women. Annoying ones at that.

I go back to my office to try and work some more but after a few minutes, Ros comes in unannounced with some champagne in her hand and 2 glasses. What the?

"Let's celebrate Christian!" she says to me while moving to my desk and then proceeds to pop the lid off in an improper way that sends the lid fly off and almost hit me in the eyes. She then starts pouring the champagne into the glasses. "Drink up."

"What the fuck Ross! You almost took my eye out." Does she not show any sympathy?

"You would have been able to dodge it anyway but for it's worth, fine. I'm sorry Christian. Now drink up." She apologizes unconvincingly. Damn she is the only that can talk to me like that. If it were anyone else their asses would be on the streets in a heartbeat. And I know she won't really push me so I just take the glass.

"Good champagne." I say while she's drinking. We just drink in silence until she finally speaks up.

"Did you ever think you would do it?"

"Do what?"

"Actually achieve your dream of making it in the business world."

"Well I never really had any doubt. I mean I knew I was good and I had enough resources. I'm just happy to have a very good team behind me." I say and she smiles but I feel like she's carrying something heavy with her.

"Yeah. I think you were destined for greatness as well." She says and takes a sip of her drink. We drink in silence again till she speaks up again.

"Thanks again Christian." She mutters sadly while looking out the window into the sunset. Thanks for what?

"What do you mean?" I ask and she comes forward to where I'm sitting and clasps my shoulder. Fuck I hope she didn't get drunk so quickly.

"Thanks again for taking a chance on me. If the man who previously owned this company wasn't my friend, I would have quit a long time ago. It's hard to live in a man's world and even more in business. They just never treat me fairly. Even worse when they find out I'm a lesbian. I thought we were in the 21st century, where we are all supposedly equal and free? I guess it's just one big façade…" She stops and takes a sip. I just watch her carefully. I feel like she just needs to someone to talk to and with Gwen being at work I guess the responsibility falls on me. "I was ready to quit business and I don't know, follow some other career path. Maybe I could have been a publicist or something but then you came along and turned this company upside down. It's great what you've done and now after a few months you're a multi-millionaire. It's just amazing. Thank you again for letting me a part of this."

I'm about to say something but she catches me off guard and starts to lean towards me. Oh fuck she's going to kiss me. The alcohol has gone to her head. Or is it that I've gained a new power to convert lesbians now? Motherfucker please no. Luckily she doesn't kiss me on the lips though and instead kisses me on the cheek then gives me a shy smile then leaves.

Wow I did not expect that. That almost felt personal. Is that what it feels like to be able to freely talk to someone? That you visibly look like you're going to feel lighter? Perhaps there's hope for me yet. I just hope Ros doesn't get any ideas. I am still monogamous and do not have any feelings for her whatsoever.

I don't even realize that my phone has been ringing for a while now and that I've mindlessly answered it and put it to my ear.

"Hellooooo?" A woman coos from the phone and suddenly I'm brought back to the real world. It's Ana.

"Hi baby. I got a little distracted. Sorry about that." I say still trying to properly form my words and try to process what just happened.

"Distracted by what?"

"It's just that my employee just kissed me right before you called." I say and then I hear her gasp and that automatically wakes me up. Fuck that sounded bad. Fuck why did I say that!

"What? What do you mean someone just kissed you right now?!" she says over the phone and I know she's mad. Fuck. Me and my big mouth.

"It was nothing baby." I try to calm her down but it doesn't work.

"What do you mean nothing? Some girl just kissed you in your office and it doesn't seem like you minded it at all." She throws at me. Fuck I need to fix this fast.

"Baby…" I coo. "It was nothing. Ros, the woman who kissed me, just thanked me for the work I'm doing in the company which has helped improve her current outlook in life. It was purely platonic. I didn't even respond to it. She just came to me and suddenly kissed me on the cheek." I say and I feel her sort of calm down. Please calm down baby. She's silent for a bit before replying.

"So she only kissed you on the cheek and not on the lips?" She asks.

"Yes baby you have to believe me."

"So she didn't kiss you because she has feelings for you?" Oh baby no way.

"No baby. She's a lesbian. And I think she was a bit tipsy when she kissed me." I lie about the drinking part. She only had like 2 glasses of champagne. She surely wasn't already tipsy then but hey I'll use whatever I can use. She pauses again for a bit.

"Okay Christian. I believe you." Yes!

"Thank you baby. So…why did you call?" I ask and I have this feeling that she's blushing right now.

"Um…I…I missed you." Ah. There's the blush I feel again.

"No need to blush baby. I miss you too."

"How do you know I'm blushing?"

"I honestly don't know but I just have this feeling of what you're feeling right now." I wonder what this is.

"Wow. That's astonishing."

"So you admit you were blushing?" And right then and there I feel her cheeks redden even more. Oh Ana.

"Yes…" she stutters.

"Okay then." I reply.

"So do you want to come over later? We could have dinner with Kate and maybe I could show you what a real kiss would feel like." Oh I like the sound of that but unfortunately I need to accomplish as much as possible to finish the launch of Grey Enterprises Holdings or GEH as I like to call it as soon as Monday.

"I would very much like that baby but unfortunately I have very important business to attend to…" I pause a bit. I think I disappointed her a bit. "I um…I just scored a massive deal. If I complete everything I need to, I'll be a multi-millionaire by Monday."

"Whoa! Multi-millionaire?"

"Um yeah."

"Christian! That's great news! Congratulations! I am so proud of you!" Wow that went better than I thought.

"So you're not mad that I won't be able to come over tonight?"

"No. I get it. You better not be having dinner with any other woman though or else I might have to claw her eyes out then yours." Ooh I love feisty and jealous Ana. I have a feeling she's just as feisty in bed. I admit I like it when she's jealous. It means she actually really cares for me which I'm still shocked at. "I'll miss you though…" She adds and I don't miss the disappointment in her voice but then I remember something.

"Baby, are you busy Friday afternoon?" She goes quiet a bit and I assume she's thinking about whether she is indeed busy or not.

"I think I have to do something after class by the Drumheller but it shouldn't take long. Why?" Good.

"Well I'm going to be at UW again. Want to maybe hang around the campus in the afternoon? You can give me a tour." Fuck I hope this works and my request didn't sound so lame. It would be too early for dinner outside and maybe I could get some lovin' on campus.

"Sure! I'd love to. I can show you all of my favorite spots to eat and just hang out in." Thank God she agreed and I'm glad that she pointed out that she eats a lot.

"Also, would you maybe want to have dinner with me at Canlis on Saturday?" Fuck I hope she accepts.

"I would love to Christian." Thank God for that.

"Thank you baby. So…what are you doing right now?"

"I'm here by the Drumheller just hanging out with Kate and some other people."

"Well stay safe now okay baby?" Fuck. I would not be able to take it if something were to happen to her.

"Of course Christian. Now what are you doing?"

"Work."

"Well I'll let you get to it then." No. I don't want you to leave yet.

"Um Ana what's your email? Maybe we could start emailing as well."

"Um. I don't have a computer so we can't really email that often. I only borrow Kate's laptop." What the?

"Ana, how can you not have a computer? It's one of the most essential things to have right now" Can she not afford one?

"Well my degree doesn't really need the use of computers and I'm not really computer savvy or anything like that so borrowing Kate's laptop is enough."

"Baby, you're going to need your own computer eventually." Add that to the list of items I need to purchase: Apartment, Audi, a computer for Ana.

"I know I'll probably need one eventually but for now can't we just use our phones?" I guess but I really wanted for us to maybe have Skype sex every once in a while.

"Okay baby." I reluctantly accept.

"Okay. I'll see you on Friday Christian. Bye."

"Oh baby, I can't wait to feel your delicious breasts and to make you come wildly again." I purr at her seductively just to rile her up.

"Christian!" she chastises. "Goodbye." She cuts the line and I immediately start laughing. I've laughed more times since I got Ana to be mine than the previous 20 years combined. Oh what does this girl do to me? I've never felt this way before. Normally I would start trying to shut this feeling out because it's so foreign to me but I find that I'm accepting it instead.

I press the intercom buzzer to speak to Riley.

"Riley, book me a table for two at Canlis for Saturday night."

"Yes Mr. Grey." And with that I drop the button. I love being able to suddenly just call and get impromptu reservations already rather than having to wait through a list. Thank God for my success. I also love the fact that I'm finally able to afford the finer things in life like having a top of the line dinner experience at Canlis with all their specials and the best wine. Fuck it's good to be rich.

/

**Ana's POV**

"Goodbye Christian." I immediately close my phone. Oh what am I going to do with my Christian? He keeps on making me flustered and not always at the right moments and places. Like right now where Kate and the rest of the members of my group for the group report are staring at me.

"Ana, why are you as red as a tomato? And why are you all flustered?" Courtney asks. Damn you Grey.

"Um…" I stutter but Kate suddenly eyes me up and down and then she gives me a big grin. Oh no. If someone can read me, besides Christian of course, it's Kate.

"Ana Steele. Were you talking dirty again with Christian?" She accuses. Damn it Kate!

"Kate!" I shout before burying my face in my hands. This is so embarrassing!

"Oh I knew it. Wow. Little shy Ana Steele being turned into a demure sex goddess slowly but surely." This just makes me hide even more. "I'm kidding Ana." She finally says and I peek up to check her out.

"Wait who's Christian?" asks Monica.

"Oh Ana's new boyfriend who just happens to be the most gorgeous guy in the world and who already owns his own company despite being only 21."

"Wow." The girls all muse.

"Ana! I'm happy for you. You just always seem so shy and now you seem to have landed this huge catch." Monica muses. Yes Christian is a huge catch but is he my boyfriend? I'm afraid to ask him because I'm afraid that he might not see it in that way and that he only wants me for sex. _Stop overthinking Ana! He is interested in more than that with you! Why do you think he wants to just hang out then and have dinner? _My inner goddess is right. I need to stop overthinking things.

"Um. Thank you."

"We must meet him soon then. I wanna see who has finally managed to grab the attention of Anastasia Steele." Catherine says. Oh I bet you would.

"Wait was he the reason you were blushing and acting all mad and flustered a while ago during class and just now?" Evelyn asks and I just blush signaling the truth.

"Please, let's just work on the presentation already okay?" I say and thankfully they drop the conversation. Unfortunately it's me who can't seem to concentrate. All I'm thinking about now is how I miss Christian's touch and how I want him to kiss me right now and for him to grab my breasts again while he rocks his hips against me. _Oh stop it Ana! You are a slut! _

**A/N**

**Hi there! Sorry for stopping here and not including all the things I promised in the last chapter here. I promise there will be some Ana and Christian fluff in the next chapter as well as his visit of Elena in the hospital.**

**Please review! I only realized now how helpful a review or PM really is to the writer's confidence so please take some time.**

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**See you next chapter.**


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